Dunfarmin Blog

All in all I think this has been a reasonable summer - it did not warm up until June, July was warm and relatively dry, August was probably the most disappointing month being cool and damp, September was overall the most pleasant month and contained the warmest day.

It has been a good breeding season for all the 'small' birds in this area with the Swallows in particular having 3 broods and the third being mature enough to tackle the migration South. Frequently they have a brood too late when food is becoming short and the chicks will probably not make it to Africa. Weather and thus, food supplies have been good and the last of the Swallows left on October 1st. I lost count of the number of House Sparrow nests and broods, but they too have had an excellent year. Other species such as Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Siskins, Pied Wagtails etc. have flourished too judging by the number of adolescent birds observed.

The pond (dug 2020) has flourished, as initially insects moved in followed by others such as common frogs. Planting could be undertaken as the margins had a good crop of grass. Unfortunately, Floating Sweet Grass (Glyceria fluitans) arrived and has established itself round the perimeter of the pond.

It appears to be very vigorous and produces a huge network of rhizomes which may present problems in future years. Some Bullrushes (Typha latifoli), Flag Irises (Iris Pseudacorus), Yellow Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium Californicum), Crimson Lily (Hesperantha Coccinea), Water Mint (Mentha Aquatica), Brooklime (Veronica Beccabunga) and some Water Cress (from Tesco) have been planted and are settling in well, indeed the hesperatha is currently flowering. The Water Cress was simply thrown in to a 'mini pond' where the drains which feed the pond emerge in the hope of catching nutrients and soil particles before they enter the main pond. It appears to be working as the Cress is spreading and already flowering.

Over 100 trees have been planted round the pond but only 'standard' 750mm tree shelters were used. I have normally found this to be sufficient protection but here, instead of having a casual graze on the tree crowns as they emerged from the shelters, the deer constantly chew any fresh growth. All the shelters have had to be replaced by 1.5m shelters with 1.8m stakes. the improvement in the growth can be seen after only 3 weeks.

The Pine Martens still visit each night, and as the cooler weather has arrived we are catching several mice in the buildings which gives them a variation in diet. The Badger apparently took a dislike to the cat flap in the barn door and completely wrecked it one night - it has not returned since.

Throughout September there were hundreds of butterflies enjoying the many flowering shrubs, primarily Buddleia. The main species are Peacock, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell.