It's Monday morning and I'm recovering from a fun, if slightly damp and muddy Sunday at Newton Rigg College's Countryside Day, near Penrith. There was plenty to see and do from all aspects of the countryside from den building to tractor rides, clay pigeon shooting to wildlife gardening, and I was there with an RSPB stall and my trusty hen harrier games and craft activities! A great opportunity to talk to a wide range of people, from students and families just out for the day, to wildfowlers, grouse moor owners, and college staff.

The Feed The Hen Harriers game never fails to attract attention...

The idea is to get the bean bags through the hen harrier's mouth while standing in the hoop... though there was a certain amount of cheating going on...!

A simple but effective moorland habitat display attracted attention and generated some good converations, while several new and interesting species were created through the build-a-bird activity!

After a successful day all round, I've also agreed to run some Skydancer workshops with the College's gamekeeping students in the autumn - something I'm really looking forward to! There are lots of events to come on the Skydancer roadshow so be sure to look out for for us! Next stops - Newcastle Green Festival and Glendale Children's Countryside Day...

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Don't know who was more startled - the curlew or me.It flew up just in front, as I walked round the field checking the sheep.And there, lying in the grass, were...All pointy ends of the eggs angled into the middle of the nest, just as they should.Thoug...

HEIGHT TOP FARM HOLIDAY COTTAGESDexter calves taking in the sun!

HEIGHT TOP FARM HOLIDAY COTTAGES                          Very handsome sheep with magnificent horns! 

HEIGHT TOP FARM HOLIDAY COTTAGESA lovely walk near to Bowness yesterday. Bluebells nearly out, just lacking a little sunshine.

Not many harriers about in Bowland I’m afraid to say but there were plenty of these around on the spring bank holiday 'In search of sky dancers' walk.

 

This is the sun loving green tiger beetle or Cincindela campestris, which tells you something about the weather we enjoyed on the walk!

I’d not seen one before coming to Bowland. Clearly I’d not been looking in the right places as they’re pretty common, you find them on dry sandy soils so they particularly like heath land and dry rocky land rover tracks such as the one up the Langden valley!

These beetles are neat, they are fearsome predators equipped with huge jaws for crushing their smaller invertebrate prey – even their larvae are ferocious, digging pitfall traps in the soil in order to trap their prey! I also love the fact that they are able to move so fast (they are one of our fastest insects) that they become unable to see, meaning that they either have to visually lock onto their prey then catch it in one swift attack or run in really short bursts, stopping to reorient themselves!

So don't forget to look down at your feet every so often when your out and about ... there are some pretty amazing creatures to be found at ground level as well as in the skies! 

 

Here at Malkin Tower we have just installed a bio boiler.  This will replace our old oil boiler which was becoming extremely costly to run. Hopefully the bio boiler will be extremely efficient and should certainly be cheaper to run.  We hope ...

We've had a lovely spell of weather this last week and its really brought all the plants on. The hawthorn hedges are greening up, the trees leaves are unfurling and woodlands are carpeted with the rich green leaves of the wild garlic whose scent fills ...

 
Yesterday we set out on another ride on the new electric bikes. It's my sort of bike ride, just like  someone giving you that extra push up the hills and it's surprising how much more detail you see as you ride alongside the hedgerows. As we set out down our road to the left we saw the wheatears feeding, they will only be here for a short while before they move onto higher parts of Bowland to breed. Across the other side of the road was a group of about thirty whimbrel, they seem to be visiting daily probably some of the ones that roost at this time of year at Barnacre. Out onto the main road we took left and set out for Chipping passing near the foot of Parlick with the Para gliders soaring above us and the gliders launching from Cockhill. On down Fishhouse Lane, really needed the brakes down there as it's very steep, the bluebells are just beginning to show. In Chipping village we headed for the Tea Garden at Brabbins Shop where there is a charging point for the bikes and a good cup of coffee for me. After our refreshments we left Chipping by Garstang Road the Curlews calling above us and the hedges on either side such vibrant shades of green. On the way back up our road I caught site of the banking in the wood, yellow with primroses so we went back down later for a walk to have a better look through the wood. The primroses have really spread, I have never seen so many there before, there were violets and just the first few bluebells. Glorious day today for the Bank Holiday and we heard our first cuckoo.          

The Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Scotland, have launched the Heads up for Harriers scheme - their own version of the Hen Harrier Hotline - and are appealing for members of the public to send in their sightings of hen ha...

Two months into my summer contract helping to monitor hen harriers on the Geltsdale reserve, it is hard to imagine a more enjoyable way to spend my working hours. With winter’s icy grip on the uplands loosened and spring struggling through, there...

HEIGHT TOP FARM HOLIDAY COTTAGES.This is one of a pair of Sedge Warblers. We've seen them in the same field for about a week now but can only seem to photograph one of them. It isn't rare but it's song is very noisy!

Our windmill fell down. It wasn't even particularly windy that day....The wooden fence must have ever so slightly broken it's fall because there is no damage other than a slight limp! We looked at the bolts at the base plate and some had sheared off. R...

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

I saw a couple of swallows today, though I haven't managed to capture them on camera yet. They have returned to nest in our outbuildings, and it is lovely to hear them chirping away as it is a sign that Spring really is upon us at last.

The excitement was palpable 10 days ago when I took a call from Mick (the RSPB’s Assistant warden) to say that a food pass had been seen between a male and female harrier on the United Utilities estate. I could almost feel my pulse quicken with e...

Please sign the petition urging Owen Patterson agriculture minister to vote to protect our bees sign the petitionhttps://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/bees-ban-pesticides-t12-1?redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.38degrees.org.uk%2Fbees-thanks-ss#petiti...

On Thursday evening around 8 pm, at least 50 Swallows flew over the house, we  hoped ours were back and would be in the barn by morning, but they all seem to have gone down to the farmyard to feed after their long journey. At least they are back. ...

HEIGHT TOP FARM HOLIDAY COTTAGESSwift Tower now in situ :)  Brian kindly let Ken use the JCB Telehandler to move it to it's position. There are four nesting boxes in the lower part and eight in the top. We will be keeping a close watch on which bi...

HEIGHT TOP FARM HOLIDAY COTTAGESAnother busy weekend. All muck out, spreader washed, sprayed with oil and put back into hibernation!

Easter Holidays brought blizzards: