In fact, not just one but two together.
I don't think I have ever seen two together before now. Hopefully a breeding pair.
Thanks to Adrian of Adrian's Images for the suggestion that the field with two apparent crops has brassicas along side Ley Grass to reduce leatherjacket damage. Sounds reasonable to me. A closer view:
Now what can Penny have possibly found to be of such interest?
Oh, just a dead one of these:
Lucky you with that Song Thrush - I haven't seen (or heard) one for years.
ReplyDeleteWeaver: Used to be several around here then numbers dropped but now seem to be recovering.
DeleteThanks for the close up and the plug.
ReplyDeleteIt is to try and mitigate insect damage Fritfly and the bloody Leatherjackets, Earwigs to a lesser extent. They used to be controlled by spraying later and early ploughing to turn the larva up so the birds could eat them, the birds have got lazy and the ground is generally too wet here to plough straight after harvest.
This looks like a posh seed drill. Grass for silage and brassica sown together; probably kale for fattening sheep or cattle. Be interesting if you had a chat with the farmer and got some snaps of his machinery. We would have to drill 3m strips of brassica and then either barley or grass but I have seen under sown crops in the Howe. It's the fertile valley at the end of the glen. I guess they coat the seed to stop it germinating till late summer. I did notice on the yield here that the insects coming in with the barley were low in numbers compared to the last couple of years. We shouldn't mention the crop yield. It is crap, didn't go anywhere near to covering costs. I guess the Craneflies ate all the ladybirds and sawflies. Balancing nature is a horrendous business but unfortunately the folk who dictate what is what think a degree in insectology/grassology sufficient. They are happy.
Adrian: Since the footpath across the field was ploughed up it is difficult to get to the farm buildings. I will ask around as to who owns the land as most round here seems to belong to one family.
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