12 Days Wild
Bank View Farm is a perfect location to explore and experience local wildlife and ecology. We have wildlife woods here on the farm and manage our land to encourage bio-diversity.
We have the Blackamoor nature reserve next door:
(https://www.wildsheffield.com/reserves/blacka-moor/)
We are on the edge of the Eastern and Burbage Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest with its unique and diverse areas of heather moorland:
(https://www.visit-eastern-moors.org.uk/about-us/about-us/).
We have the National Trust Longshaw Estate at the top of the hill.
(https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/longshaw-burbage-and-the-eastern-moors)
If you would like to stay with us then we are always happy to show you these delights on our doorstep. Follow this link to select a room or suite to book. https://bankviewfarm.co.uk/rooms/
We are going to take the Wildlife Trusts 12 Days Wild challenge over the festive season. This aims to bring a bit of nature into our life from Christmas Day onward.
Day 1 – A Family Walk on the moors
We managed to get the family out on a bright early morning walk from the Farm and up onto Blackamoor on Christmas Day. Beautiful bright crisp winters morning wonderfully lit by a low sun. Saw Jay, Magpie, Pheasant, Crow, Redwing, Blue tit, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Wood-pigeon, Blackbird, Wren, House Sparrow and of course a Christmas Robin. We are lucky to have many walks straight from our back door.
Day 2 – Deer Spotting
Up early today to look for Red Deer which are easiest to see at dawn and dusk in the fields close to our farm. We were rewarded with seeing a stunning herd of about a dozen female red deer just coming out of a local wooded area to graze in the early morning light. A perfect start to Boxing Day.
Day 3 – Bird Watching
Murky grey day today so did some armchair bird watching and tried out the new Christmas camera. We have lots of bird feeders around the farm filled with different treats for the birds. We particularly enjoy the Charm of Goldfinches which regularly visit our Niger feeder. Chaffinches and Bullfinches clear up the seeds they drop at the bottom of the feeder. Amazing colours when you can zoom in and get a good picture.
Day 4 – A trip out to Bakewell Parkrun
We went out to Hassop with the family on Saturday. This is a great location to explore the peak district by bike or on foot with a great cafe to relax afterwards.
We went to the park run for some post Xmas exercise whilst our grandson explored the local ecology and mud.
Day 5 – The beauty of lichen on the local gritstone
We are lucky to live in an area surrounded by beautiful dry stone walls. At this time of year when there is less vegetation around the lichens which grow on them are more visible and their diversity is amazing. We took a slower walk this morning and took time to stop and look and photograph them.
Day 6 – Evidence of spring
A gorgeous bright sunny day. Now that the winter solstice has passed the days have just started getting longer. We went out to look for evidence that spring is on the way. In the garden there were shoots from the daffodils bulbs pushing through the soil, buds on the hellebores, winter flowering heathers in bloom, and the spidery flowers on the Witch Hazel were glowing as the sun shone through them. The garden is starting to wake up.
Day 7– Checking the Palletat
When we were planting our woodland a few years ago we dug up lots of stones from the planting holes and we had several pallets lying around the farm so we constructed what we hoped would be a suitable habitat for lots of small mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. We piled the pallets on top of each other and stuffed the gaps with layers of various natural substrates including dead leaves, small pebbles, broken slate, straw, twigs and bamboo. Then we piled the stones around the pallets leaving plenty of small gaps and topped the construction with a turf hat. This was called the palletat and was left alone to see what would happen. Now its winter the grass has died back from around the construction and we spent a few minutes checking it. The palletat has settled into the wood and looks more mature. The stones are now hosting lichens and mosses. We could see little tracks around the bottom which we think were from small mammals. Hopefully it is providing a nice cosy dry home for lots of creatures.
Day 8 – Buds and Bark
Back up to the woods today to look at the trees. We planted many native trees that are still fairly small and immature. It’s interesting to take the time to look at them in winter. The differences in bark colour and texture is amazing from the green holly branches to the grey brown of the oak. They all have buds just starting to swell in this mild winter. Some buds are tiny like the Field Maple while others such as Horse Chestnut have big fat buds. There are already catkins forming on the Hazel while on the Beech trees the buds are forming among the rich brown dead leaves which are still held on the branches.
Day 9 – Putting up Bird Boxes
Now that some of the faster growing trees in the wood are reaching a larger size they are big enough to support bird boxes. We feel that is important to provide suitable nest sites while the wood is maturing so today we took 5 bird boxes and fixed them in what we hope are suitable locations to attract smaller birds such as sparrows, tits and finches. It was also nice to see a couple of nests in the larger trees so the birds are already appreciating the new trees.
Day 10 – Planting Christmas trees
We love having a real Christmas tree at the centre of our family celebrations but feel a bit guilty that a tree has been cut down for us to enjoy. We are lucky to have the space to be able to plant new Christmas Trees in a small part of our wood so that in future years we can harvest our own. Today we planted some small fir trees that we have been growing on in pots until they are of a suitable size to be able to compete with the weeds in the wood. Hopefully these will grow into healthy trees for us to enjoy. in future years.
Day 11 – Inspecting our wildlife pond
Up to the top field to look at the wildlife pond in winter. As expected it is completely full following the very wet autumn / winter. No insects or reptiles to be seen but the bulrushes are looking lovely and because it has been so mild the waterlilies have not completely died back. There are lots of tracks around the pond showing that lots local wildlife use the pond as a source of water. A blackbird was drinking at the waters edge.
Day 12 – A spectacular view of Deer – Better Camera
Another early start this morning with the new Christmas camera and the aim of tracking down some local Red Deer to take better pictures. We were in luck. Just above the farm we found a small herd of deer just starting to graze in the early morning light. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.
Come and Explore the Wildlife
If you do come to stay at Bank View Farm we are always happy to show you around our farm and highlight great local walks to appreciate the unique landscapes and nature on out door step. Follow this link to select a room or suite to book. https://bankviewfarm.co.uk/rooms/
