Recently my gardening has been done to the soundtrack of “crex crex CREXXXX.” I couldn’t tell if the Crexer was on the croft or just shouting loudly on the common grazing. Then on Saturday I actually saw, for the first time ever, a Corncrake on the croft! He (I think it’s the the boys that do all the yelling) was within metres of where I was working. Really I’m quite offended that for 30 years the Corncrake population has studiously ignored our croft. We’ve put a lot of effort into creating a nature friendly field and until now were shunned by Corncrakes. Next I’d like a family of owls.
I’m trying to count the different species of bird hanging around on the croft, so far we have about a trillion Sparrows, Wrens, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Gold Finches, Wagtails, occasional Great Tits, Swallows, a couple of Doves (yes they were cooing,) Cuckoos, Snipe, Skylarks, they’re more in the field next door, and for one day a year – Redwing. I have in the past almost trodden on a nest of Meadow Pippets. I would love to see some Blue Tits, unfortunately I think the warring Sparrows and squabbling Starlings put them off. Occasionally a Sparrow Hawk appears, obviously attracted to the buffet of small birds. Most years we see Buzzards too. The Buzzard population must be tied to the furry critter population, this year I haven’t seen a single vole which must be bad for the Buzzards, good for the gardeners.
Undoubtedly the main reason for our success in attracting birds to the croft are the hundreds of trees we’ve planted. Even a small hedge, or one tree makes a difference for the bird population though. Small birds really love a hawthorn hedge for nesting in, Dog Rose or even Rosa Rugosa are a good Autumn food source and Sparrows love a dusty drive way to wriggle around on! Corncrakes like a bit of an open space with shorter grass to strut about on. We do have a tree-less area where the grass was cut a few years ago, that’s where Mr Crexer is showing off and shouting. Let’s hope he’s successful and Mrs Corncrake shows up.
The Blackbirds are on a constant quest for fruit, last week two got in the greenhouse and managed to scoff a few cherries. They always find a way into the blackcurrants, luckily we’ve got so many blackcurrant bushes that the birds would struggle to eat them all.
I had a rootle under the potato plants and found a few edible sized tubers so I expect new potatoes to feature soon on the Croft Share menu. The baby beetroot are sweet enough to eat raw, either grated or thinly sliced. To cook, wrap in tin foil and bake for about one hour at 180C.
This week’s Croft Shares will have:
Small – shallots, Spring onions, beetroot, courgettes, chard and salad leaves.
Medium – shallots, Spring onions, beetroot, courgettes, chard, salad leaves, kale and herbs.
Large – shallots, Spring onions, beetroot, courgettes, chard, salad leaves, kale, herbs, Spring greens and onions.
Get the Merlin app on your phone. There are some birds which we rarely or never see, but we hear them. It also helps to identify the ones you’re not quite sure about.
I’ve seen a fair amount of nest-building this year, so hoping to see the results soon.