It has been a lovely summery day today, thank goodness ten degrees warmer than yesterday and the rain/hail has moved on.
We have been putting nest boxes of various types around the farm in recent years and are very lucky to have some neighbours who are bird experts; Duncan and Debbie have been keeping a close eye on the boxes this spring and have reported that one of our old barn owl boxes has been occupied by Tawny Owls who have hatched two chicks who are now growing well and can sometimes be seen out and about of the branches of their oak tree. A red list species, the Tree Sparrow, has also been reported as using one of the special nest boxes that were put up to try and encourage this rare species to breed in this area. There has been quite a lot of Barn Owl activity recently with many sightings, but as yet we are not sure which of their nesting sites they are using.
On the domestic animal front the sheep have been moved onto the top section of the grassfield and are enjoying the flush of spring grass which has now come. The lambs are growing fast and gradually weaning off the ewes. Leonard however, the last lamb, is quite a bit smaller than the rest. Leonard's mother has had mastitis in the past which means that she is not milking fully in both teats and whilst his brother is on the "good" side, he was on half rations. In order to give him a boost we started topping him up with some formula milk and whilst there was an initial reluctance he now comes galloping down the field when Neil goes in there with his bottle.
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