I was looking through the photographs and videos on my camera this evening and realised that I have experienced some wonderful wildlife sightings on the farm in the last week and wanted to share them. The remarkable thing is that I spend at least eight hours a day staring at a computer screen, so these sightings were mostly in the two or three hours I spend on the farm each day after work.
In order of appearance since Saturday 13th June, here are some highlights (please let me know if I get any of these identifications wrong):
Common blue female on birdsfoot trefoil in a second year flower rich plot (AB8 in countryside stewardship):
Small tortoiseshell butterfly on oxeye daisy, also on flower-rich countryside stewardship plot:
Six-spot burnet moth on birdsfoot trefoil:
Swollen thighed beetle (obviously!) Oedemera nobilis:
Male common blue on oxeye daisy:
Ladybird larva and aphids on knapweed:
"Jack go to bed at noon", aka meadow goat's-beard:
Moths! Emerald species, ermine, orange underwing:
Nicrophorus investigator, banded sexton beetle:
Spotted flycatcher:
Yellowhammer:
Treecreeper:
Roe deer in grass margin adjacent to herb and legume rich grass ley; big hedges and spring beans in the background:
Like them or loathe them, muntjac are always entertaining, interesting little deer:
House martins gathering mud for their nests:
Flower rich grassland established as part of countryside stewardship agreement in 2018:
Large skipper on oxeye daisy
"Spider" - I need to look this one up!
Stabiliser cows and calves enjoying some fresh grass:
Skylarks seem to have benefitted from the rotational paddock grazing system that my brother has set up in the last few years - some paddocks left undisturbed for 60 days, leaving plenty of time to rear broods with good cover from predators:
Cow dung brings dung beetles:
Tufted duck with 10 ducklings on an in-field pond protected by a vegetated buffer margin:
Peacock butterfly caterpillars on nettles:
Meadow grasshopper:
Putting up a homemade barn owl box with my dad and seven year old nephew (he took the photo!) on father's day, next to a wildflower meadow on which my brother, dad and I broadcast wildflower seeds by hand five years ago - most of the photos of invertebrates that I posted above are from that area:
I feel incredibly lucky and thankful that I have the opportunity to see and experience all of these wonderful things in the space of a single week! Happy father's day, dad, and thanks for sparking my interest in wildlife and farming!
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