Wishing you all a safe happy and Covid free 2021
As we thankfully say goodbye to 2020 and wish for new beginnings in 2021 we have had a quiet but lovely first Christmas and new year with the boys and Ollie in our farm house home. Although we missed our wider family we did enjoy all the Christmas fun (massive turkey, new books to read, too much chocolate, Santa hats etc). And we weathered Storm Bella with only a few tiles and barn door blown loose. Other holiday activates included trying to keep the farmyard mud out of the house (mission impossible) and digging out the driveway drain (a never ending but weirdly satisfying job).
With the short days it has been so enjoyable watching the birds feed on the fat balls, nuts and seeds in the garden. During the winter the small birds only have enough fat reserves to last them a few very cold nights, so feeding stations and thick hedging can really help them get though. Sparrows have had a massive fall in numbers over recent years (estimated at 20 million since 1966, for every 1 tree sparrow you see today there were 30 in the 1970’s – Benedict Macdonald, Rebirding). This is in part due to their food sources dwindling but also due to the rarity of their traditional over night roosting spots – untidy garden bushes and open eaves on our houses. I know some people aren’t keen on birds sleeping and nesting under the gutter, but you can put up sparrow boxes or on an older house keep the eaves open and double up on your loft insulation. We have sparrows using a particularly sheltered spot next to an upstairs window, they are so loud and welcoming in the mornings its a delight! With my early morning tea within 10 mins I counted these common garden birds taking turns at the feeders and pecking the windfall apples: blackbirds, bluetits, robin, flock of starlings, magpie, pheasant, goldfinch, pigeon, sparrows (lots) and four crows who sat like sentinels or dementors spaced in the tall trees around the edge of the garden looking in. Also, I think I saw a couple of curlew in our 11 Acres field (on account of their enormous bill) but I’m not 100% sure…..
We have been burning off the Christmas excesses by walking the South West Coastal path. Some of us have already managed from Combe Martin (north east) to Welcome Beach (close to the Cornish boarder) which is an impressive 80 miles, only another 550 to go!! We have also cycled from home into Bideford and a short way along the Tarka Trail which was pretty hilly, but a great way to pick up the paper.
Our really big news is that we are very excited to share our rewilding plans for the farm which have been developed and crafted by Matt Jones of EAD Ecology and Chris Enderby of Enderby Associates with extra pointers from Andy Bell, UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve Co-ordinator. They have all kindly visited us and studied our coastal location, ecology, topography, microclimate, services, geography, soil fertility, current vegetation, natural irrigation, farming practices and lots of other factors to evaluate the optimal biodiversity we can aim for to create a local wildlife haven. Currently the farm is mainly pasture for cattle and sheep with an arable field. In the future we hope to have a wet wood, coastal scrub, coastal and wildflower meadows, scrapes and wallows, reed beds, new hedging, orchard, large pond and a sculpture trail though parkland which I know the wildlife will particularly enjoy. Our aim is to create many dynamic habitats suitable for our windy and salty outlook and let the wildlife find us. It a FABULOUS plan (thank you Matt, Chris and Andy) and I can’t wait to start, and create our own little gem within the North Devon Biosphere.
This is a huge long term project which we will attempt to undertake in phases will help from Neil the farmer and local environmental groups…. wish us luck!