Tipton's Croft

A wild field garden in Bomere Heath, Shropshire, England

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    Need more than flowering grass? Here’s some real spring colour.

    • Water Crowfoot
    • Red Campion
    • Greater Stitchwort

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    OK, it’s not as pretty as other flowers, but Meadow Foxtail is the first grass to flower here in the spring, so we think it deserves a mention.

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    Swarms of them in the field, usually appearing on the 25th of April (St Mark’s Day) but a day late this year because it’s a leap year?! Weird-looking things dangling their legs in the air, but they don’t bite and are good pollinators so we’re letting them do their thing.

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    With few predators (no fish in the lake) the taddies have taken over. We might have a bit of a problem if they all turn into frogs and toads!

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    The female barn owl carefully steps around the eggs, then settles down next to the male: turn up the volume to hear the gentle chittering.

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    Doesn’t mean field is on fire again!

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    The damp winter has helped the cuckoo flowers this year – proof that spring has arrived at last.

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    All going well, with the male hunting well at night in the good weather.

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    A little incident today with a bonfire getting a little bigger than planned. Thanks to the amazing Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service it all ended safely with a scorched field but no significant damage. Lessons learned and someone at Tipton’s Croft has had his matches confiscated and is only allowed to use blunt scissors in the office.

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    Three eggs so far, the owls are doing well with good hunting thanks to the good weather at night.

    Proud mother on the left, father on the right.

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    The female can’t go hunting now, so the male does it for her, bringing back a nice fat field vole, but expects and gets something in return: but he’s so keen he doesn’t even wait for her to have her meal first.

    (warning: scenes of a noisy and graphic nature!)