Category: Countryside

  • Water Rail

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , , , , | June 19, 2017

    Sion has been busy camera trapping and has come across a species only seen here once before, many years ago – the water rail. We can only hope that the wetland habitats we are creating with the help of the beavers are bringing these shy and elusive birds to the farm. Drew

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  • A Busy Time

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , , , , , , | June 12, 2017

    It’s been manic on the farm recently. This prolonged wet and windy weather has made silage making a gamble and Eirian just got the last lot in at two in the morning before the heavens opened yet again. Many big tree branches, heavy with wet leaves, have been blown down in the strong winds. The…

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  • A Little Piece of Upland

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , , , , , | May 11, 2017

    Here on the farm we have a tiny vestigial piece of upland, it’s tucked away on a bank alongside a farm track and is so tiny you’d barely notice it. There are a few tufts of heather, some rowans and a fair sprinkling of blaeberries. It’s wonderful to see the tiny berries starting to appear…

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  • May Day on the Farm.

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , , , , | May 5, 2017

    Spring has been slow, which is how we like it. Birds are nesting everywhere. The wrens in the Bevis Shed are nesting in the motor of the sawmill so we cannot mill any planks. An immaculate pair of bullfinches are busy shredding fruit buds in the orchard, which is not so good. I watched at…

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  • Predator Control

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , | April 10, 2017

    I’ve just returned from New Zealand where there has been a major crisis in wildlife management ever since mammalian predators were introduced in Victorian times. Rats, stoats, weasels, ferrets, cats, hedgehogs, possums, rabbits, hares, pigs, goats and deer all either predate native wildlife or wreck the habitat. Efforts have been made to control their numbers,…

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  • Devon Beavers

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , , | March 29, 2017

    Devon Wildlife Trust have put together a wonderful document about beavers and their place in the environment. Click the picture to visit Devon Wildlife Trust and read the report or we do have a limited number of paper copies in the office.

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  • In Like a Lion…

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , | March 20, 2017

    …out like a lamb, or so they say about March. We are almost into the last week of the month and it’s still feeling very lion-like and the forecast is only set to get colder and wetter through the week. It’s making the reinstatement work very difficult at Ricketts Mill. A few dry days last…

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  • New Ponds and Frogs

    By The Bevis Trust In , , , | March 13, 2017

    Really gratifying to see new tadpoles hatching in one of the ponds we have recently made. Toads are doing well here too but it’s saddening to see how many are being killed on the road every night. The herons too are taking their toll. They kill them but then find them unpalatable so it’s a…

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  • Visits and Events

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | February 16, 2017

    Yesterday we hosted a group of interested folks from both NRW and Carmarthen Council. Organised by Craig at JCR Planning, it was a great opportunity to talk to people about the work we are doing at Ricketts Mill and the broader beaver project. Over the past couple of weeks we have also attended the PONT…

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  • The Good Guys

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | February 1, 2017

    Western Power Distribution – what can I say? Their amazing guys have been working to get the old power lines down today in appalling conditions. A real heroic effort. And what a difference it’s made. Already the view is much improved but much more importantly, wildfowl and other birds visiting the lakes are now much…

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