Local Historian, Signmaker and restorer Duncan Armstrong preparing the finger post sign at the junction of Guide Lane and Stump Hall Road. The sign is post 1930 and so will be black and white when it's finished. It will be a much appreciated improvement.

On 30th June we took part in a walk at Craven Ridge (near Lawkland) arranged as part of the Forest of Bowland Festival. It was an absolutely glorious day and we managed to take lots of great photos (much improved) with the expert assistance of our leader Veronica Caperon. We can only show a few here but if you want to view more why not visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/cravenridge/
It was interesting to see Ingleborough from a totally different angle than that we see daily at Parkfoot.

The little hedgehog has sort of learnt how to nudge the top saucer off the food, sat eating in the rain with it on its head, not sure if intentional ! Ended up sat in the plate as usual.

Recently spotted this flower on the fishing lake and didn’t know what it was. Looking in the guide books suggests a Common Hemp nettle Galeopsis tetrahit .

Amazing growth in just a week - the nest is looking a bit crowded and no sign of the swan feather decoration. While working on the roof Colin managed to photograph one of the parents too.

Our Forest of Bowland Holiday Cottages These pictures were taken by Gavin Thomas ( RSPB )

just down the lane. The parents were feeding three fledglings." WELL SPOTTED" Gavin.

16/07/10

Hogweed, Pink Valerian, Meadowsweet, Blackberries, Knapweed, Thistles, Nettles  and Meadow Vetchling all flowering which meant there were loads of insects flying on a warm, breezy overcast day with some sunny spells. Some of the hogweed flowers were just covered in soldier beetles and various flies. Meadow Brown butterflies are really hard to photograph as they drop to the ground to avoid predators (photographers) attention.


Sericomyia silentis

Eristalix pertenax

Sunfly, Heliophilus pendulas

Sawfly, Tenthredo arcuata

Grypocoris stysi


Gasteruption jaculator with Soldier Beetles

Soldier Beetles, Rhagonycha fulva

Meadow Brown

After worrying about the lack of hedgehogs earlier in the year we now have at least two visiting the garden every night to be fed, one of which is tiny.  To stop cats eating the catfood I put an inverted saucer over the bottom saucer and it seems to work. The big hedgehog just shoves it off with its nose or rocks the saucers.  The little one can't though. The other night the little one turned up around 9.50 pm, trundling around in front of the shed and climbing around on an alchemilla. It wandered around the saucers unsure what to do and I'd forgotten to leave a gap it could get its nose under. It was about to give up so I went out and uncovered the food. It froze, then ran off under the shed,but when I came back in we could see its little nose going  and it came back to the food. The big hedgehog came down the side of the house and up behind the small hedgehog and we thought it might be hostile, but it just ate a little alongside it, walked off, circled back a couple of times then left the little one to the food. We did wonder if it was its Mum. The small one ended up sitting in the middle of the dish troughing its heart out.

Height Top Farm
Taken lots of photographs of the two little owls and just managed to get one of them both.
The smaller of the two is lighter in colour and sitting on the post on the left.

The swallows nesting in the resource centre are progressing and looking slightly less alien. It is amazing how much they develop in a week. Meanwhile others in one of the older buildings have already fledged. One particular family can usually be seen as a gang of four sitting together on a wire fence or in a tree, occasionally still being fed by a parent.

This year there seems to have been more swallows, swifts and house martins than usual. They are a pleasure to watch in the evenings as they fly low over the ground and in amongst the buildings.

Spotted this damselfly on the edge of the fishing lake. It is probably a relatively common Blue-tailed damselfly Ischnura elegans though other suggestions welcome.

A selection of recently seen butterflies including this Comma - Polygonia c-album feeding on a bramble near the fishing lake; Small skipper - Thymelicus sylvaestris feeding on a Shepherd’s purse in the grass verge of one of the meadows; and finally a Speckled wood Pararge aegeria seen in the wood near these dramatic foxgloves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On Sunday we called at Forrest Hills to look at the amazing resource centre. It is a while since we were last there and so it was good to see how thing have progressed. Colin was working away but took time out to show us around. The roof is on, some of the window frames are in and it's generally coming on. There is so much timber work and the shapes are outstanding. We're really looking forward to when it will be finished but know that however long it takes it's definately going to worth the wait.
Being there, reminded me that our vegetable garden is doing very well, although on a small scale. It is our first attempt at growing but we haven't bought any vegetables for weeks and it's lovely to go and decide what to dig up and cook immediately.

The little owl has a friend! This morning I saw two little owls both sitting on the fence posts.
I got very close to them and had both in focus when the lense closed on my camera and one of them flew off. I'll keep trying to get them both together.

Height Top Farm
A few of the wild and meadow flower seeds have survived the birds and certainly brighten up the stone wall. Next year hopefully we will have a better display.

The following were logged in the cottage nature diary by guests Maggie & Peter Gentry:-
29/6/10 Woodpecker on fat ball on bird table in the garden. Curlew, oystercatchers and magpie seen on the farm.
30/6/10 Swifts around cottage and also swallows and red admiral buterflies. Dunnick, chaffinch and sparrows at the bird table. Blackbirds on the lawn.
2/7/10 Magpie at the bird table.
4/7/10 Young pied wagtail on the garden wall. 3 brown hares in the field next to the cottage.

We realised we were taking too long building the resource centre when a pair of swallows moved in and nested inside the top floor of the building! The nest is beautifully lined, probably with swan feathers from around the lake, though the youngsters themselves are unlikely to win any beautiful baby competitions at the moment. They seem completely oblivious to building work going on around them.

We have also started to play a CD of swift calls (bought from the Swift Conservation Trust) every evening from the resource centre towers. This is intended to attract young swifts, who might then think of moving into the swift boxes in the tower next year when they return.

One large bed in the vegetable plot is planted with Phacelia tanacetifolia, a crop used as a green manure to build up the soil fertility. It also has the benefit of lovely purple flowers which bees love. The whole bed seems to hum as you walk past it.

As we arrived home last week from our trip to Australia the beauty of The Bowland Countryside was just stunning. The hedgerows, trees and wildflowers had all burst forth.
Visiting some last years cottage guests, they showed us the Australian Lapwing. We would not have recognised them, no crest on top and no purple/green shimmer in the feathers. What they do have is " bright yellow, dangling ear flaps " !!!
After another successful breeding season our visiting lapwing are now gathering into groups enjoying the wider area before leaving till next year.
Our family of Greylag Geese are still with us, looking in exceptionally fine form. I must say they have been the most attentive and protective parents I've seen in a long time.

Our Forest of Bowland Holiday Cottages

Steph from the pony trekking centre has an afternoon ride with Frank and Janet

Only a few feet fron the back door of the farm house 2 duck were seen recently walking by!