Sunday 20 April 2014

Real nature in the Orchard

Yesterday evening we came across a clutch of five pheasants eggs in the longer grass in the Orchard. They were located about four metres from the riverside public footpath. The pheasant hen had probably abandoned the nest after being inadvertently disturbed by passing walkers. She was just too close to the path.. Normally you'd find more than five eggs in a clutch.

All of the eggs had been raided and pecked open leaving just their olive green shells. Presumably this destruction was the work of a magpie or a crow. 


Most of the newly laid hedgerow is now showing progress in most places with small green shoots thrusting upwards from the stem of laid blackthorn.

Saturday 12 April 2014

The willow is sprouting

We've had good results with the willow planted in a grove in the orchard. We planted 100 wands of Salix Viminalis and we've had a 100% success rate in their rooting and sprouting.




The above picture shows the healthy growth so far on one of the wands.