At last as we come towards the end of May , a little reprieve from the recent hot spell , the temperature here in North Wiltshire has dropped from 34c to a much more agreeable mid 20’s . Better sleep and definitely more activity from the feather and furries at the meadow ! Hopefully we might even get a little rain , the wildlife ponds at the meadow are by design shallow , great for the visiting birds but it does mean they dry up really fast in prolonged hot weather.
“ England has seen their hottest-ever May daytime temperature with 35.1c recorded in Kew Gardens , London. “
We do have a 200 litre ( about 60 gallon ) rain harvesting water storage tank on site , this is now down to around 30% full. On the plus side the recent hot weather has been a bonus for the meadow insect population and this in turn is providing a food bounty for the fly catching birds.
Making the news this week……….
Some of Britain’s rarest birds of prey are still being illegally killed despite decades of legal protection, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
The charity’s report, to be published on Wednesday, records 921 confirmed attacks between 2015 and 2024, with more than half, according to the RSPB, on or near land managed for game shooting. Mark Thomas, head of the RSPB’s investigations unit, said the killings were “about money”, with birds of prey targeted to stop them taking young pheasants, partridges or grouse, leaving more birds to be shot by paying customers.
Shooting organisations strongly deny persecution is widespread across the industry. They say it is carried out by a small minority and condemn it outright. But the RSPB is calling for gamebird shooting in England and Wales to be licensed, arguing estates should face tougher consequences when protected birds are killed on their land.
A rare ancient rainforest set to come back to life
A restorative programme run by Ulster Wildlife is working hard to bring ancient woodlands back to life over the next 100 years. Also known as the Atlantic or Celtic rainforest, it is one of the UK and Ireland’s rarest, most biodiverse and most threatened habitats.
Just 0.04% of Northern Ireland’s total land area is ancient woodland. These forests are crucial to the environment and the ecosystems that live within them.
Rosemary Mulholland, Head of Nature Recovery with Ulster Wildlife, is part of the team that has embarked on an ambitious 100-year restoration programme to restore temperate rainforests. Almost 30,000 native trees of Irish provenance, such as oak, alder and rowan, have been planted on the 41-acre site which is situated at Lenamore Wood, near Gortin in Omagh.
The Visitor Book
Starting with the feathered visitors and the ever present we have the Robin’s who are busy collecting all manner of small prey . Then we have the tit families , Great tit’s , Blue tits and Long-tailed tits. It’s fledgling time and both the Blue tit and Great tit adults have a constant battle finding enough food to satisfy their demanding young. Then we have the Dunnock , Chaffinch , Wren , Blackbird , Chiffchaff and Bullfinch.
Next up , the larger birds with the Wood Pigeon , Jackdaw , Magpie , Jay and Pheasant. Moving on to the furries and kicking off the list with the entertaining Rat family. Then we have the Grey Squirrels , a couple of Rabbits and a single Roe deer.
The Name check
As you may know this blog started nine years ago and I’m still amazed by the wonderful support and encouragement i continue to receive so here is a quick shout our to some of the towns and cities that have read the blog this week. As ever thank you so much for your support !
Des Moines – USA , Nuremberg – Germany , Venice – Italy , Paris – France , Birganj – Nepal , Farnham – Canada , Hagar – Norway.
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