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 new old pond
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Category: The Old PondThe 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.
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Buzzard
Our resident buzzard caught close up on the wildlife camera.
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Our favourite time of the year
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Learning to fly
A few stretching exercises then the two owlets start their night of flying lessons.
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New wildflowers
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Hedge Woundwort 
Betony 
Meadowsweet 
Hemp-Agrimony 
Gypsywort 
Hedge Bedstraw 
Ground Elder 
Greater Celandine 
Cut-Leaved Crane’s-Bill Nine new appearances so far this year. Some likely from seed we’ve sown but not all.
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Bees are happy today
And this is as close as I’m going to get to them in a T-shirt.
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Hooty check-up time
Seven weeks old and time for John from the Shropshire Barn Owl Group to come and weigh, measure, ring and undertake an expert assessment of our two owlets. One is male, the other female and both are good weights and healthy, though somewhat grumpy for being disturbed in the middle of their sleep.
Thank you John!
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First look at the world outside
The owlets can now jump up and reach the entrance to the nest box to see the wide world for the first time. Not long before they get weighed and measured: more photos to come soon.
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Five weeks old
The two barn owlets are 35 days (five weeks) old and their proper feathers can be seen growing under the warm fluff and they’re developing the familiar heart-shaped face. In another two weeks we hope the owl expert to come and check them over, and we’ll have a chance to see them properly for the first time.
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Different year, different flowers
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The meadow looks different every year. This year the mass of common knapweed on the small hill has been replaced by rosebay willowherb, hedge bedstraw, bird’s-foot trefoil and oxeye daisy with even more bird’s-foot trefoil in the field. The bees will be pleased.
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Bee time
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Our wonderful bee keeper, Sue, has, with help from experts Paul and Rob, installed a strange new bee hive called a top bar hive. Despite its odd looks it didn’t take long to fill with bees who have got very busy harvesting the wildflower nectar in the field to make honey.
