I thought you might like to see how the meadow develops over the season, from the shorter grass and flowers in April and May to the seed heads in September. It is an ever changing environment and the wildlife changes with it.
We saw a lot of the barn owl in April and May last year, when we were getting the campsite ready. He, or she, has a path that they like to follow early each evening, along the ditch line and across the field looking for unsuspecting voles. At this time of year you can also hear the frogs and toads in the pond. It seemed to be a bumper year for frogspawn so hopefully we will have lots of frogs returning this Spring.
In June, my favourite time of year, we sat and watched the acrobatics of the house martins catching insects over the long grass. I was too busy admiring them to take a photo unfortunately. If we were feeling particularly daring we would stand in the middle of the meadow while they darted around just missing us. The same thing happens with the bats in early evening as they catch insects over the pond.
On the still, heady days in July and August last year we often saw one or all of the four buzzards circling over the meadow. They are stunning to watch. Whenever we hear their thin ‘peep peep’ call we rush out and see if we can spot them. They are way too high up to get a decent photo most of the time.
In September the grasses are almost white and are full of seed heads. We can get some really lovely sunsets at this time of year as the nights draw in.
