Barn owls not seen, Good news? January 17, 2014Farming with Wildlife, Norton Suffolkmike At the end of last winter and running into spring it was not unusual to see Barn owls hunting in daylight. One afternoon I saw four Barn owls and a Short-eared owl hunting at the same time in one of the hay meadows at Halls farm. From a selfish bird watching and photographic perspective it was excellent. However, for the owls it was very bad news. In 2012 Barn owl numbers recovered to levels not seen in Suffolk since the 1930s. Last winter the Barn owls were hunting in day-light because they did not have enough food, many were too thin to breed last year and more died of starvation. This winter is different, Suffolk Barn owls are much more difficult to see. But, they are still here. I have been watching them in several places, they are coming out to hunt usually just around sunset. The good news this year is that they are not out for long, the Barn owls I have seen are catching voles and mice within a minute or two of starting to hunt. Within 20 minutes they have caught enough and go back to a roosting or nesting site and disappear. At Micklemere near Ixworth last week the owl I was watching caught 3 voles in 10 minutes and went back to its box, much to the annoyance of a pair of Magpies who were finding it harder to get food. The Halls farm Barn owls are still living in the old Heston Bales at the Back of the large open straw barn. At this time of year they are trying put on weight before starting to lay eggs in the spring. If they continue to catch rodents at the rate they are now they should have a successful breeding year. I have also seen Barn owls near the nest boxes on Halls Farm and Little Haugh Farm but not as often as last year. This is good news and could mean a good breeding year but not so good for photography!
Sore toes January 16, 2014Farming with Wildlife, Norton Suffolkmike Where have they all gone? At the beginning of November I knew I could reliably see at least 15 Brown Hares in one of the uncultivated fields at Halls farm. They were especially active in the early morning and the hour before sunset. Then, suddenly over a just a few days in mid November they just disappeared. It is not hard to understand why Hares have traditionally been attributed with mystical powers, how can such a large animals just disappear? Tempting as it is to run with the mystic powers there must be practical explanations. Robert Honeywood says that as winter sets in Brown hares move into the woodland round the farm to shelter from the harsher weather, I will admit our spaniel has found more Hares in woodland during December. There are other explanations, the simplest is that the Hares still come out at the same time but the shortening days mean that it is dark. The colder weather and poorer food make Hares more solitary, they focus on eating and then rest to conserve energy. Finally, the winter cereal crops continue to grow and during the days some Hares are still in the fields but lying low and very difficult to see. Look very carefully and some of the small brown dots in the “tramlines” turn out to be Hares resting in a low scrapes. It is now mid January and things are starting to change, the days are getting longer and a plus side to the wet Atlantic weather are mild temperatures. The hares are starting to reappear, on Saturday morning we saw four playing and starting to box each other . They are coming out on the Suffolk lanes during the day, I suspect they are getting away from unrelentingly wet fields that make their feet sore, as I have seen in some of the close photographs I have taken recently, the fur falls out from between their toes. Over the coming weeks I am looking forward to seeing groups of ten or more Hares in day-light socialising and playing together in the open fields. I will try to predict where they will meet so that I can watch and hopefully photograph them more closely.
Brown Hares at Halls Farm Norton October 1, 2013Farming and wildlife Norton Suffolk, Farming with Wildlife, Norton Suffolkmike April is a great time to watch Hares, the day are getting longer and the fields although green are still short. I have added series of photos taken in the April spring light. I often see a Brown hare, usually alone, out on one of the wide Suffolk fields where I live. However, Hares need shelter to rest during the day and to hide their young when they are small and helpless. Halls farm in Norton Suffolk is one of the best places I know to see Brown Hares; it is not unusual to see large numbers on the Halls Farm fields. This is because Robert and Steve Honeywood, as well as running a profitable arable farm, also actively encourage wildlife. 10% of the farm is not used for crop production and is actively managed to encourage wildlife. The 10% of the farm managed for wildlife allows the hares to thrive. The photographs on this page will follow the Brown Hares of Halls farm through the year. I will show a series of images showing them in different seasons. Brown Hare close nose washing. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare close foot up. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare low down in spring growth. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair running on the turn at sunset. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running close sunset eye. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare back leg stretch at dusk. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair on standing at sunset. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare waving at dusk. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair close chase at dusk. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare sitting early spring morning, Lepus europaeus Brown Hare sniffing grass blade early morning light, Suffolk Lepus europaeus Brown Hare morning light in early spring meadow, Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running early spring morning, Lepus europaeus Brown Hare intimate portrait Lepus europaeus Brown Hare in Borage Lepus europaeus Brown Hare and Red Legged Partridge running early morning Lepus Brown Hare running early morning Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running close at sunset. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare leaping to the side Lepus europaeus Brown Hare about to leap early morning Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running on the turn early morning Lepus europaeus Brown Hare eating at field edge, early morning Lepus europaeus Brown Hare emerging from field edge, early morning Lepus europae Brown Hare washing in early morning light Lepus europaeus Brown Hares having a disagreement Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running side on close Lepus europaeus Brown Hare jumping Lepus europaeus Brown Hare dropping food Lepus europaeus Brown Hare in field verge early morning Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running in afternoon light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running facing afternoon light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare trying to hide Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running side on Lepus europaeus Brown Hare jumping through Borage, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running with Red Partridge, evening light Lepus europ Brown Hare foot in mouth, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare toe cleaning, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare watching, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare close and intimate, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running at field edge, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare jogging along field edge, evening light Lepus europae Brown Hare running away looking back light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare, big stretch Lepus europaeus Brown Hare stretching on the ground Lepus europaeus Brown Hare looking, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running close up, evening light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare selecting a leaf Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair, above and below Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair in mid air fur fight Lepus europaeus Brown Hares, inconsiderate foot use Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair on back legs Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair fight and flying Lepus europaeus Brown Hares boåxing, fur upper cut Lepus europaeus Brown Hares flying fur fight Lepus europaeus Brown Hare retreating from boxing, Lepus europaeus Brown Hares boxing in the sun on the skyline, Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair squaring up for boxing, Lepus europaeus Brown Hares boxing on the skyline, Lepus europaeus Brown Hares boxing in late winter sun, Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair colliding Lepus europaeus Brown Hares in a morning chase Lepus europaeus Brown Hare fur fight in the sun Lepus europaeus Brown Hares in chase at field edge in early spring afternoon light Lepus europaeus Brown Hare with low flying pheasant. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare dealing with itchy ear. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair on the turn at sunset. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair close at sunset. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare pair running in tanden at sunset. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare leveret sitting and waving. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare in the undergrowth. Spring Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hares tag and jump. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare game at dusk. Spring time Sufolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare close landing. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare framed by spring plants. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare licking its back. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare sitting behind groundsel. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare on tip toe and low, Spring Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare leveret back lit by spring sunlight, Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare leveret eating on Easter day, Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare leveret having a private moment, Easter day. Spring time Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare running in spring growth. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare close nose covered. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus Brown Hare close and low. Morning light Suffolk. Lepus europaeus
Farming and wildlife Norton Suffolk September 17, 2013Farming and wildlife Norton Suffolk, Farming with Wildlife, Norton Suffolkmike Four Barn owls and two Short-eared owls hunting a meadow at the same time, a large flock of Yellowhammers taking off in a golden swirl, watching brown hares from a track and loosing count because there are so many. These are a few of the high lights that stand out for me so far this year. These incidents were not the result of visiting nature reserves or responding text message alerts, I saw all of them on the same intensive Suffolk arable farm a few miles from where I live. I have visited Halls farm Norton owned by the Honeywood family for many years to get horse food produced on the farm from chopped straw. Father and son team Robert and Stephen are passionate about the wildlife on their farm, this is typified by the large modern barn used for straw for the Honeychop feed production. The back of the barn is filled with old worthless grey straw bales contrasting with new bales at the front, this is because a pair of Barn owls and Kestrels live and nest here, the old straw will not be moved until the bales disintegrate or the birds leave. The Honeywood family intensively and profitably farm 900 acres including neighbouring Little Haugh Farm, run a feed business and employ more than seven people. Intensive arable farming has a strong impact on wild life, some farms near me are almost wildlife deserts compared with Halls and Little Haugh Farms. In these pages I will show you some of the birds, animals and plants living on the farms and describe the management used to maintain the high wildlife population and diversity. 1032
Untidy and neglected? September 17, 2013Farming and wildlife Norton Suffolk, Farming with Wildlife, Norton Suffolkmike Halls farm, Thick untidy hege full of berries and nuts Halls farm, uncut field margin and thick hedge Halls farm, Thick untidy hege full of berries and nuts 1040 Halls farm track egde with seed laden verge and hedge full of au Tidy farm Suffolk neatly trimmed after harvest Tidy farm Suffolk, Oak tree sprayed, trimmed and ploughed to the Tidy farm Suffolk, fotpath sign nicely sprayed neatly trimmed he 1039 Tidy farm Suffolk Bridle path edge growth and hedge cut back har Tidy farm Suffolk, Path and conservation verge of Italian rye gr Untidy and neglected is probably the reaction of some people seeing Halls and Little Haugh farms for the first time. Field margins are uncut, hedges large and unruly and some fields are un-cropped with long grass, thistles and nettles. This is particularly noticeable after harvest when many neighbouring farms closely trim their hedges and field margins before stubble is cultivated and next year’s crops are sown. But the apparent untidiness is a deliberate management choice. Walking around the farm early September to take these photographs I saw dozens of swallows, house martins and dragonflies hunting insects over the un-cropped fields. Linnets and yellowhammers were feeding in the field margins, a large group of brown hares panicked when I appeared, and hundreds of partridges exploded into flight around my feet. Of course the management of both Halls and Little Haugh farms is partly influenced by the game bird shooting that takes place autumn and winter but whatever the motivation, the sheer quantity of wildlife living on these farms is striking. Over-wintering birds need to be able to feed every day and find shelter at night. Uncut field margins contain seeds and insects and uncut hedges are heavy with berries. Farms where margins are cut back and sprayed and hedges tidily trimmed provide little food and shelter for overwintering wildlife. Public financial support for farms over recent years has shifted from supporting production to an environmental focus with most farms receiving payments depending on the level of environmental work they do. However the effectiveness of these environmental payments can be compromised by unsympathetic management, with field margins of non-native rye grass having a similar wildlife value as domestic lawns. The very neat and tidy farm near my village is a complete contrast to Halls and Little Haugh farms. However, this comes at a cost that does not increase production and reduces profit. The contractor who cuts the field margins and puts neat corners on the edge of the few hedges presents an invoice of thousands pounds a year and the spray that kills the ”weeds” at the base of the trees and telegraph poles on the farm costs well over £100 litre. The result is a wildlife desert, and when the farmer does want a days shooting there are no game birds on his farm so he pays to shoot a few pheasants on “untidy” neighbouring land. Excessive tidiness is expensive whichever way you look at it; perhaps we should get more comfortable with the “neglected look”.