Category: Birds

  • Establishing Wetlands

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | December 16, 2016

    We have been very busy down at Ricketts Mill. The plan is to turn the old trout farm into a focal point for the Trust’s activities where students and land managers can come to get first-hand experience of management techniques. The existing lake was built for trout fishing and drops sheer at the banks to…

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  • Slurry Pits

    By The Bevis Trust In , | October 2, 2016

    A neighbour delivered a Barn Owl here on Thursday. He had found it floundering in his slurry pit. It was exhausted and caked in slurry. We tube fed it with finely ground up mouse that we give the baby falcons, and with electrolytes to provide fluids. Then we left it in a dark warm box…

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  • The End of Summer

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | September 18, 2016

    We are still at the farm in Northumberland where we are having a lovely Indian summer, with morning mist in the valleys burning off to reveal bright sunlit landscapes. We have been working with the falcons, flying them every day at robotic prey birds and learning more and more about their development and flying skills…

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  • Rewilding and More

    By The Bevis Trust In , | July 21, 2016

    Last week Jo and I attended a meeting at the Knepp Estate down in West Sussex. There, the owners Charlie Burrell and Izzie Tree have devoted their 3,500 acre estate to an ambitious re-wilding project.We took the opportunity to have a walk around some of the estate.   Later that evening I enjoyed staying in their…

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  • A Busy Evening

    By The Bevis Trust In , | July 13, 2016

    A very busy evening on the lake last night. The goslings, now all pretty much fully feathered, were practicing their flying skills to a huge cacophony from their parents. The nest in the new hide has yielded its first chicks – at least three hungry wee swallows. The little yellow diamond shaped open beaks were…

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  • Fledgelings

    By The Bevis Trust In , | July 11, 2016

    This is a time of year full of hope, tinged with sadness. All the young animals are leaving their nests and burrows, but they are so vulnerable, and many don’t make it. Evolution has planned ahead and compensated by creating bigger broods, but even so the attrition rate can be horrendous. There have been lots…

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  • Glorious

    By The Bevis Trust In | June 23, 2016

    It’s a glorious misty morning here in Carmarthenshire today, with the promise of a bright sunny day to follow. I couldn’t resist an early morning quad ride round the farm, more rabbits than I’ve seen for years bobbed away at my approach and bejeweled cobwebs hung everywhere. It was quite magical. The greylag goslings are…

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  • Exploring

    By The Bevis Trust In , | June 17, 2016

    We are spending time exploring down at Ricketts Mill. Every visit turns up a new delight. From the many hundreds of tiny frogs to the burgeoning plant life. Over the next few months we’ll be making some important changes and we’ll keep you updated via the blog. The initial plan will be to soften the…

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  • Bevis Trust purchases Rickets Mill

    By The Bevis Trust In , | June 14, 2016

    After about six years of negotiations, the Bevis Trust has now purchased Rickets Mill, a 14 acre trout farm adjoining the west end of the farm. This is the first property actually in the name of the Bevis Trust, the intention being that the entire farm will eventually be taken over by the Trust. The…

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  • The Year Moves On

    By The Bevis Trust In , , | May 29, 2016

    Lots of neighbours are on the silage now. The pattern of farming is changing each year. Two of our neighbours have died and their land is let to another neighbour who has committed big time to dairying and built new sheds. So contractors are whizzing round the lanes in massive tractors taking the cut grass…

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