05/03/2024
Here on the farm we have a good showing of birds of prey and corvids and we try to do more each year to provide a natural environment to allow them to flourish. In the plan for this year we will be planting 4 acres with a herbal lay which provides great ground cover for both birds and mice and we will plan to plant approximately 1 acre with a meadow mix to encourage pollinators and birds.
Here is a video of a regular, the common Buzzard, on its favourite perch in the woods.
We also get Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Red Kite, Owls and there is rumour of a Goshawk. The female Goshawk is as big as a buzzard.
A pair of Red Kite nest every year in the area and the kestrel can be seen most days hunting along the Swales or taking a drink at the lake, the swales we dug and planted with trees provide great cover for mice and voles (but not good enough to hide them from the kestrel)
Just recently at Teynham levels, 8 miles away, there was a showing of a White-Tailed Eagle!
We have a pair of Ravens flying over almost daily, They may be looking for a nest site in the bordering woodland although this is where theBuzzards have nested for at least the last six years. In the fields we see Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Jays and Magpies.
The Barn owls have been nesting close by for the past few years and can regularly be seen at dawn and dusk hunting. We haven't managed to get any to nest in the boxes we put up but the local pheasant population has cottoned on to the feed being put out in the garden of one of the cottages and its very dramatic when they are startled and 15-20 pheasants all take to the wing with their distinctive call.
We have seen over 60 different song birds in the last couple of years
