Tipton's Croft

A field in Shropshire, England

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    A new sighting of a stonechat: caught on the camera set up to catch the kingfisher (who is proving rather camera-shy).

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    The kingfisher is proving an expert at fishing and the roach less expert at hiding.

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    A brief visit from a female barn owl last night. She is ringed so has come from a managed nest but we don’t know where, yet.

    Update. On closer inspection we can just make out some of the digits on its ring, which match the adult male from this year. So he’s roosting somewhere else and keeping an eye on the empty nest box.

    (the oak leaves are from a squirrel who has tried to make a nest in the nest box)

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    A kingfisher has appeared on the pond for the first time. A brief glimpse earlier in the week but today confirmed as we watched it wait patiently on a branch over the water before diving down to catch a fish (a small roach).

    These are the best photos we could manage but we have set up a camera next to its perch so hopefully a better view soon.

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    Hemp-agrimony
    Marsh woundwort
    Hedge woundwort
    Betony
    Great burnet
    Meadowsweet
    Gypsywort
    Hedge bedstraw
    Ground elder
    Greater celandine
    Cut-leaved crane’s-bill

    Now we’re heading into autumn there won’t be any more wildflowers this year so here are all the new ones we’ve spotted. This takes the total number of different wildflowers at Tipton’s Croft to 123.

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    Or rather haylage, as is often the case late in the season, it’s too wet for hay but a total of 18 bales so not a bad year and another good opportunity for the wildflower seeds to be spread around the field.

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    Three juvenile moorhens have survived (so far) and are now settled in with the two parents on the island. They are all quite shy and skittery so we never see them that close up, but they seem quite happy where they are, safe on the island and with lots to eat.

    Here’s where they live.

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    Important Badger Business.

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    The heron’s managed to find a way in past the wire around the pond: limboing under it in a gap in the reeds. Beautiful bird but a menace to our fish.

    So we added two more strands of fishing line which seems to be working, at least for now.

    The scarecrow hasn’t been that effective though.

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    The two barn owlets have dispersed and the nest box is now empty. A good opportunity to clean it out and service the cameras, all ready for new residents.

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    The two young owls are now flying well and hunting for themselves. This may well be the last time we see them before they disperse and find new homes.

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    The old pond has been slowly deteriorating over the past few years, filling in with vegetation and becoming so shallow that it would likely have disappeared completely if we didn’t do anything.

    So we brought the diggers in and over a week pulled out tons of sludge, rubble and other detritus.

    Once we were down to the clay we dug the pond deeper and used the clay to line and seal the sides.

    Then we filled it from the borehole (with a very long hosepipe).

    A month later it is already looking so much better. The water is clear and already filling with insect larvae. We’ll plant up a few native pond edge plants but leave the rest to nature. It should be deep and wide enough to prevent weeds taking over and with no predatory fish in it the small wildlife should flourish.