As I sit in the office looking out at the gloomy drizzle my mind wanders back to those glorious days of clear blue skies and warm sunshine... all of two days ago. How quickly the weather changes! The warmer weather did a lot to boost our teams energy as we continued with hedge removal and planting on one of our farms. On Tuesday I heard my first skylark of the year singing merrily overhead, and on Wednesday a group of lapwings accompanied them with their peculiar squeaky wail. It was a beautiful time to be working outside - I was too hot in my chainsaw gear, not bad for March!
I've had a really good couple of weeks for bird sightings. Nothing particularly rare or unusual, but really close up (I need to carry my camera around more!) A buzzard swooped down in front of my pick up as I waited at a junction and perched on the fence post next to me, surveying the field; a pair of jays squabbling in a tree and seemingly oblivious to me standing next to them; a sparrowhawk hunting along the woodshed lane; and a heron in flight very low near Tern Bridge. There are also a lot of kestrels around the Estate at the moment, easily spotted as they hover in one spot watching for prey below.
We are into the final few weeks of hedge planting now as the new season beckons. Some of the hawthorns are already budding so as soon as this cold snap ends, we will finish planting. We should just about get the hedges and new apple trees in the ground in time before rolling on with the next projects; it looks like temperatures are dropping for the next two weeks so wrap up warm!
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