Swallows On The Move

Once again the Swallows at the Golf Club have had a successful season with more than fifty young fledged from five/six pairs. This year with only one room available for them to nest in two pairs have bred on the outside of the buildings, one on an alarm and the other just attached to the wall like a House Martins. Most of the young are now flying South but how many of them will reach South Africa?

On Hopwood there are now a pair of Roe Deer and a this years young. These will probably stay until late Autumn when lack of cover will force them back to Roch Valley which is more secluded. Also seen in the recent hot weather were two Green Woodpeckers feeding together on the ground. There are now lots of parties of juvenile birds around and it would seem that most have had a successful breeding season. All except the Buzzards that once again do not appear to have produced any young locally this year. Parties of Bullfinches are particularly enjoying the ripening crop of Blackberries.