I've seen black pheasants in the wood before, but only in the distance, and this is the first time I managed to get a photo of one, a female:
It's nice to see some signs of Spring approaching too, such as Dog's Mercury coming out...
...and Bluebell shoots getting steadily larger:
The area we coppiced in Sweep Wood is getting some sunshine now, it'll be interesting to see what grows there in the next couple of years while the trees start regrowing:
I've posted photos of the tame pheasants in our woodland before:
But recently I also made a video of them so you can see how they behave - I took this using my mobile phone, so that gives you an idea of how close they are, no zoom lens involved:
The coppicing is generally proceeding according to plan, at least on the few days with nice weather! Here's a couple of shots of the progress so far:
As we've progressed through this area, we've discovered a new wallow the wild boar are using:
I gather from people who've lived here longer than us that there has been a spring here for some time, so it seems the boar have located it and turned it into bathing facilities!
Meanwhile, on a day when it was too windy to fell trees safely, I decided it was finally time to repair the roof of a shelter we built back in 2008. Although it's not used to actually store anything, and only has a roof, not walls, it's still useful on camping trips and when Tracy has her class up there, to shelter stuff from the rain or the sun. The sticks I'd nailed on to make a roof in 2008 had started to rot, so the first step was to get all of them off:
The new roof was going to be made using sweet chestnut offcuts from Rich's sawmill:
First though, I peeled the bark off them to improve durability, and used a chainsaw to cut them to length and taper the ends a bit where necessary:
Then it was a case of drilling holes and nailing the offcuts onto the frame to form a new roof:
I think you'll agree that this finished product:
looks a lot better than the original one did in 2008:
The final step was to reinstall the tarp to keep the rain out:
Now it's ready to serve campers and schoolchildren alike next summer!
The weather has been a bit stormy recently, with wind and rain making working in the woods at best unattractive and at worst risky, but there have been a few glimpses of the sun in between.
I've been making reasonable progress on the coppicing, considering how little time I've actually been up there cutting:
There was even a bit of frost one morning!
Back over near our camp, we've started filling the bird feeder regularly again. The birds empty it over the course of 48 hours, so when they notice me arrive they usually turn up and wait for me to fill it:
Then as soon as I'm done they get in there as fast as they can...
The visitors included Coal tits...
Great tits...
Blue tits...
and sometimes several of them at once!
Of course, the small birds spill some of the seeds, which provides food for the Pheasants. A male and female turned up, and given how tame they were I suspect they may have been around last winter as well.
Finally, over near where I was coppicing, Tracy and I spotted a Buzzard down in a field, possibly finishing off a meal:
It was quite a long way off, and I tried getting closer for a better shot...
but sadly was noticed...
Anyway, I'm hoping to get some more Buzzard photos, as they've been around the woods a lot more over the past few months, and I've seen a pair of them soaring overhead.
Hoping for some drier weather in the coming weeks to get back up there to do some more work and photography...
Spring really is here now - the first Bluebells appeared in the woods this week!
One particular spot in Sweep Wood has a great mix of colours right now!
There's some Violets out there too:
And the Wood Anemones are at their peak, looking stunning:
The days of these flowers are numbered though, as the trees are starting to wake up too. Sweet Chestnut leaves are starting to appear:
Birch are quite well advanced:
And the whole wood is beginning to take on a real green tinge! Here's the area we coppiced in winter 2013/14:
And the ride between Sweep Wood and Grist Wood:
This week has presented the last few chances to get photos of birds before the leaves hide them from view. This one's a Chiffchaff, which I've not seen that often before:
There's also lots of Pheasants around, with the males competing for the territory near our bird feeder, as the small birds knock seed off it and the Pheasants hoover it up. This one's trying to sneak up on the food without the other bird seeing it:
The butterflies are out in force now. Here's a Green-veined White:
A Peacock which has overwintered as an adult, and is looking a bit battered:
And another one, which appeared smaller and in better shape:
Comma butterflies are out too:
And finally an Orange Underwing moth - sorry for the poor photo, it wouldn't let me get very close...
While photographing the butterflies I thought I'd have a go at taking photos of hoverflies as well, which is tricky as they are too small for autofocus, and don't actually stay still for very long. Still, I managed to get these two:
Moving on to other things, I realised the wild boar had been trampling across the dam we have by the spring, causing a muddy stretch on the path. So I made a few repairs, to the left of the vertical stick:
and three days later there was a lot more water in the 'pond':
I've also been digging to try and drain a bit of the ride between Sweep Wood and Grist Wood - see the channel in the top-right of this photo:
That's all for now. Looks like rain is on the way at the end of this week, which I'm sure will help the plants in the wood, if not the butterflies. Next time I should have lots of Bluebells to show you!
