JULY 2024
Well hello again ... we are now past the longest day and into "proper" summer .. so called .. but sadly still few days of warm sunshine and certainly below average July temperatures.
Whilst attending the wonderful new Honington village sign unveiling ceremony I was also able to watch some 4/5 pairs of Common Swift back to their usual under tile nesting sites ... and what a welcome sight. The frenzied group screaming flight is what, for me, makes a real summer. An every day wonder in continental Europe but with declining numbers coming across the channel their return is great to see. They really like our Suffolk traditional S shaped roof tiles so we have the perfect housing stock in many of our villages. Sadly in stark contrast to the poor numbers of Barn Swallows and House Martins; hopefully they are just a bit late arriving after a series of cold weather fronts.
Another wonderfully evocative sound is the call of the Eurasian Curlew. A single bird calling strongly flew low over Rymer Point from the direction of RAF Honington. A previous hot spot for Curlew breeding success locally .. actually on the airfield; the enclosing high perimeter fencing providing good protection from most predators .. critical for these ground nesting birds. The clever fox can of course seek to creep in through the main gate at night but generally the airfield site is a safe haven. Whilst on the subject of predators .. both the Common Buzzard and Red Kite are almost daily visitors to our skies in Honington and Sapiston .. the latter almost guaranteed to get people looking up at the graceful flight of this particular raptor. I vividly remember being so excited back in Covid days when they first started to appear .. now a very common sight .. if you are not sure on identification just look at the long deeply forked tail and slow flapping flight. The buzzard has a short broad tail and holds its wing in an obvious V shape when it flies. Whilst cycling recently through Ixworth I was lucky enough to witness a skirmish directly over the High Street with the inevitable "loser" .. the Kite wheeling away in a panic. The Buzzard is a much larger and stronger bird and if they do get into a fight there are well documented records of the Red Kites being killed by the Buzzard
Despite these poor summer days nature is still throwing up some joyous moments. Maybe 3 weeks ago I was locking up around 9.30 in the evening when I discovered an adult Hedgehog crossing our gravel drive heading for cover. A first for over 11 years!!! The body seemed longer than I could remember and low slung. An experienced friend suggested that it might well have been a pregnant female searching for a nesting site. Today the 15th of July I was clearing up after some decorating and suddenly noted some movement in the border. Often the Wren forages for insects and at ground level. But to my astonishment out walked a tiny Hoglet !! Baby hedgehogs on our land .. I could not believe it !! Later a second smaller baby also appeared around the other side of the house. So at least two have been born and are very much out and about! Fingers crossed that they will survive. Apparently there have been a number of first time sightings this year so do be aware.
Can the next month really be August ... surely this weather will improve ?
Well hello again ... we are now past the longest day and into "proper" summer .. so called .. but sadly still few days of warm sunshine and certainly below average July temperatures.
Whilst attending the wonderful new Honington village sign unveiling ceremony I was also able to watch some 4/5 pairs of Common Swift back to their usual under tile nesting sites ... and what a welcome sight. The frenzied group screaming flight is what, for me, makes a real summer. An every day wonder in continental Europe but with declining numbers coming across the channel their return is great to see. They really like our Suffolk traditional S shaped roof tiles so we have the perfect housing stock in many of our villages. Sadly in stark contrast to the poor numbers of Barn Swallows and House Martins; hopefully they are just a bit late arriving after a series of cold weather fronts.
Another wonderfully evocative sound is the call of the Eurasian Curlew. A single bird calling strongly flew low over Rymer Point from the direction of RAF Honington. A previous hot spot for Curlew breeding success locally .. actually on the airfield; the enclosing high perimeter fencing providing good protection from most predators .. critical for these ground nesting birds. The clever fox can of course seek to creep in through the main gate at night but generally the airfield site is a safe haven. Whilst on the subject of predators .. both the Common Buzzard and Red Kite are almost daily visitors to our skies in Honington and Sapiston .. the latter almost guaranteed to get people looking up at the graceful flight of this particular raptor. I vividly remember being so excited back in Covid days when they first started to appear .. now a very common sight .. if you are not sure on identification just look at the long deeply forked tail and slow flapping flight. The buzzard has a short broad tail and holds its wing in an obvious V shape when it flies. Whilst cycling recently through Ixworth I was lucky enough to witness a skirmish directly over the High Street with the inevitable "loser" .. the Kite wheeling away in a panic. The Buzzard is a much larger and stronger bird and if they do get into a fight there are well documented records of the Red Kites being killed by the Buzzard
Despite these poor summer days nature is still throwing up some joyous moments. Maybe 3 weeks ago I was locking up around 9.30 in the evening when I discovered an adult Hedgehog crossing our gravel drive heading for cover. A first for over 11 years!!! The body seemed longer than I could remember and low slung. An experienced friend suggested that it might well have been a pregnant female searching for a nesting site. Today the 15th of July I was clearing up after some decorating and suddenly noted some movement in the border. Often the Wren forages for insects and at ground level. But to my astonishment out walked a tiny Hoglet !! Baby hedgehogs on our land .. I could not believe it !! Later a second smaller baby also appeared around the other side of the house. So at least two have been born and are very much out and about! Fingers crossed that they will survive. Apparently there have been a number of first time sightings this year so do be aware.
Can the next month really be August ... surely this weather will improve ?