Tuesday, 25
Oilseed Rape
This years oilseed rape harvest is now underway. In common with our neighbours, yields are down - a casualty of the year's very low rainfall.
A countryside compared
Flying back over northern Europe from a last minute, pre-harvest break I was struck by the overwhelming contrast between continental field systems and our own in the UK. The linear, hedgeless, systems of European agriculture yielded to our small, absurdly shaped fields that are scattered amongst the woodland of the South East. It was a useful perspective and a reminder of the unique character of our countryside.
Wednesday, 12
A trip to the Island
On Monday I was lucky enough to be invited to visit a farming estate on the Isle of Wight and to see first hand, some outstanding conservation work that would put many wildlife groups to shame. With over 2000 acres being managed specifically for conservation gain (and without recourse to an army of volunteers) the owner is reverting set-aside and failed coniferous woodland to chalk grassland, improving (in a biological sense) the existing chalk grassland and managing his woodland for the fauna - bats in particular. Hugely impressive and on a vast scale, the project is a simple reminder of just how important individuals are in the management and maintenance of our countryside.
Tuesday, 4
Agricultural Landscapes
I picked up an interesting booklet at the Royal Show. Titled "Agricultural Landscapes: 33 years of change" I was heartened to read the foreword by the Chairman of The Countryside Agency. The second paragraph read as follows: "The farmed landscape has seen fundamental changes during the course of this study, due to greater labour efficiency, mechanisation and specialisation. The then Countryside Commission believed that the first report revealed 'deeply disturbing facts about the nature and scale of changes taking place in the appearance of much of the English countryside'. Later studies , however, have shown that the pace of change has slowed and this latest report suggests that the lowlands seem to be experiencing greater stability. I was particularly delighted to note that the quality and size of many hedgerows have improved and the widespread removal of this distinctive feature of the English landscape has all but ceased." Heartening to read because at last officialdom seems to be recognising that farmers and landowners have been working hard for conservation and biodiversity gain - a change that started in the early 1990's. The next step in this awakening is to hope that the media takes note.
Monday, 3
Barn Owls and Swallows
A few days back our licenced barn owl ringer came to check our nest box. Over the past decade we have had tremendous success with the box. Last year the owls had two broods and three years back a single brood contained six young. This year, no such luck. There were no eggs and the parents were of low weight and not in sufficiently good condition for breeding. I understand that this is a very poor year for voles (the population builds and the collapses in seven year cycles). As a result our barn owls have taken to sitting quietly in the barn waiting for the odd mouse rather than expend energy flying around the fields. Graham who checks a number of boxes locally advised that in all the other boxes he had checked he had found the same thing. More success with the swallows however. One pair chose to build a nest above our backdoor in the open porch. Despite being continually disturbed by our comings and goings, the five young are now out and learning their wings.
