The Devonshire Red Chicken
Chicken as it should be
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2007 Summer
We're hoping the young trees we've planted will survive the summer. The rain's coming down hard and it's the wettest it's been at this time for years, but a high water table is good for tree establishment.
Moorhen have found the ponds and island an absolute haven. James decided to introduce some of his horrible domestic duck, much to my annoyance, but they seemed to reduce the amount of blanket weed which was causing problems, so they can't be all bad.
On 22nd July back at the pond we had a new visitor, a young coot had dropped in to survey a new home. It did not stay long but hopefully it will return next year.
We're noticing how the smaller ponds are now supporting lots of insect life, with water boatman appearing recently. They're the most incredible insects - they can fly, crawl on land and swim underwater. Marauding dragon flies have also arrived, zooming up and down hunting for insects. There are also lots of common butterflies attracted to the grassier parts of the field, the Meadow Brown in particular.
The swallows that arrived to nest around the farm buildings in March are now onto their second brood of the year, which hatched at the end of June and were soon exploring the outside world.
Click to see: December 2006 - Spring 2007 - Autumn 2007
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