Getting drier

The dry weather is finally having an effect. The top pond has shrunk appreciably, but this time last year it was bone dry. The work we had done last winter to deepen the pond has obviously helped.

I saw a buzzard above the Upper Meadow. The buzzards nest on a farm down the lane, but they rarely stray over the Nature Reserve because that’s the rooks’ territory. This buzzard looked round a little nervously, saw a single rook heading out from the wood, and fled immediately. Although it was three times the size of the rook, the buzzard knew that a squadron of rooks would be on call to chase it away.




The meadows are full of flowers – particularly the lower meadow - with lots of insects visiting them. Butterflies are flitting frantically from bloom to bloom, but bees take their time and allow you to photograph them. Take a look at the meadows before the grass is first mown.