It does feel wonderful to see so much new life and I forgot to mention the tadpoles who are getting their legs now
I am so lucky to live where I do and I feel I am helping to make a small difference. It does help that we don't have squirrels and there was no crow's nest this year, as the local farmer's group has had a crow control campaign, so more nests will have survived.
It is noticeable though that when the swallows are feeding, they circle above the garden and the boggy triangle, rather than over the adjacent fields, so I guess there are more insects here. There are certainly plenty of midges!
Our farming neighbours are sympathetic to the birds and they have put up a box for the barn owls, and there are tawny owls too, and as we found out this year, short-eared owls as well. This all presupposes a healthy population of field mice, voles and shrews.
There are still curlews here, that fly over many times a day and I never tire of hearing them. There are skylarks too and other ground nesting, birds such as snipe which nest in the fields.
It is quite a haul to the top of our ten acre grazing, so we don't get up there very often and they have it to themselves. Can't really take credit for not doing something, but sometimes that is what is needed.
Big issues with dogs and ground nesting birds like skylarks. I hope it’s not a problem where you are.
It’s been interesting comparing Wild Ken, which is private with no footpaths, and Knepp which is cross crossed with public footpaths. At Knepp the public is asked to keep dogs on the leash at all times but locals don’t and it’s been decimating to local birds. There’s really not much they can do except put up signs. WK has a much easier time with this.
I do hope the UK will begin a sensible conversation sometime soon about wildlife v dogs & cats. Most orgs are too terrified of the reaction to say anything.
The cat that is trying to adopt us bought me a baby wood pigeon last night. It hadn't even opened its eyes, probably only a few days old. He climbs trees to get at the nests.
Not trying to be a buzz kill here but avian flu is very very serious this year and so limiting contact with wild birds, especially sick looking ones, is good practice. It's an even greater reason to keep dogs on leads and on paths too. And you know, keep cats indoors
Saw the first swallow tail butterfly after 3 or 4 years absence. I read that it lays eggs on Asclepia siriaca. I had a look around online and there is only one nursery (I am talking Continent) that sells Asclepia Incarnata. Two questions: 1 are they the same plant and 2) is it worth it for the one swallow tail that I see? The book on butterfly that I have says that the swallow tail only lays eggs on this plant.
Nevertheless I was so happy to see it again, such a beauty.
I am surprised that your book says that swallowtails lay eggs on Asclepias, which are not even native to Europe! The European Swallowtail, Papilio machaon, lays its eggs on wild carrot, fennel and other umbellifers. Asclepias is the larval foodplant of the Monarch Butterfly in America.
The book is a Pocket guide to the butterflies of GB and Ireland by Richard Lewington bought in England (2017 edition). It does say Milkparsley, which on my googling comes up as Asclepia.
Posts
Two questions: 1 are they the same plant and 2) is it worth it for the one swallow tail that I see?
The book on butterfly that I have says that the swallow tail only lays eggs on this plant.
Nevertheless I was so happy to see it again, such a beauty.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg