Spring is such an exciting time on The Farm, not only has the growing season commenced but all our non-human residents are springing to life and our hedgerows and margins are a hive of activity, as Engagement Leader Emmy discovers...
Spring has well and truly sprung on The Farm...the birds are in full swing, singing, feeding, courting, marking their territories and building their nests. Most of our nesting boxes look like they've been claimed for the season, and our abundant hedgerows are providing a home for a whole host of species...we will be graced with the chatter of hungry babies before we know it!
Greater Spotted Woodpecker have been drumming with gusto, and Green Woodpecker, as always, seems to add a soundtrack of laughter to all our days on The Farm. Kestrel is still a daily visitor, dancing on the breeze, hovering over our fields in hope, and Red Kite seems to be visiting with increasing regularity, and offering up some impressive close-up acrobatics - changing pace in the blink of an eye! We're also keeping an eye on the skies looking out for the first arrivals of swifts and swallows who will soon to be moving in for the summer.
Survey season is now underway and we are already on to the second of our monthly Bumblebee Surveys. At the first of these our group witnessed a leap from zero spots last March to 16 this year. Our weekly Butterfly Surveys have had a slower start but we're hoping that these last few days of dry weather and warmth will coax out those hibernating beauties and we're already beginning to spot the first few on the wing.
There is an abundance of flowers out in bloom, providing a feast of nectar and pollen to our insects, from cowslips, primrose and pulmonaria in the hedgerows, to dandelions and daisies in the lawns, to wallflowers, forget-me-nots, calendula, lamium and geums in our borders - and there will be plenty more colour and feeding-opportunities to follow as the weeks go by! The first of our apples and other fruit trees are also bursting into the most deliciously-scented blossom helping to fill both the bees' bellies and our hearts! We've been busy sowing lots of flower seeds, including a proliferation of sunflower seeds, which are always hugely popular with a range of wildlife - human and non-human alike!
Now is the time where our patience and prepartions over winter pay off as the world around us bursts into an abundance of life - all we have to do now is keep up with the pace of all this growth - and find moments to be present and give gratitude for the amazing abundance that surrounds us on this magical little corner of the world....come out and join us soon, the land is waiting for you.
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