May 5th, 2010
It’s a good news story again for 2010, which is getting plenty of headlines in the local papers. Like old friends, the ospreys are back to Bassenthwaite after a long return trip to West Africa.
Under 24 hour observation by RSPB volunteers, the nesting site in Dodd Wood, only a mile distant from us, is just visible from the Belvedere with a good pair of binoculars. There’s a good webcam too and much more on the award winning Osprey Watch site.
The ospreys are good news for local shops, hotels and small businesses as they attract visitors to the area, still recovering from last November’s floods. But they are not the only show in the valley.
There are other birds of prey which are fascinating to watch. Peregrines and sparrow hawks are frequently about and yesterday, walking with friends on Coledale Common below Barrow, I looked up to see 20 metre ahead of me, a kestrel hover in the wind, stoop down on a small vole and carry it off still squeaking to a nearby rock.
An hour later a buzzard was wheeling in huge circles high above Braithwaite Lodge and the nearby plantation, as we descended to the village. If you want some good bird watching, the Derwent valley and the northern lakes take a lot of beating.
Tags: "Lake District walks", Bassenthwaite, Lake District cottage
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April 30th, 2010
The last week’s seen a burst for summer. Our recently planted oaks have pushed out their first leaves, the azaleas are expanding into flower and the huge beech in the forest above The Larches has now a waving mass of fresh green leaves. This morning a peacock and an orange tip butterfly perched lazily in the sun on the pot of pansies on the Breakfast terrace.
It all seems a long way from the flooded rivers five months ago (see my 23rd November blog posting,), which brought misery and heartache as families became homeless, bridges and footpaths were smashed and hundreds of small businesses were brought to their knees.
The good news is that substantial repair work has been done. At Little Braithwaite, the smashed side of the beck has been rebuilt with huge rocks and a massive bank of earth behind (see photo), while at High Hill in Keswick the Greta river has now a raised concrete containing wall with 6 inches thick facing stones.
The bad news here – according to one of the stone masons I spoke to – is that this is not high enough and it will have to be increased in height at least a further 10 inches when there is more money available. Oh yes and at Little Braithwaite there’s a problem too. The road bridge – which crossed behind the hedge in the middle photo – was swept away and will not be replaced before next year. You’ve probably guessed the reason by now!
Tags: 2009 November floods
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March 16th, 2010
We’ve seen them occasionally, but rabbits generally are not frequent visitors in Seldom Seen. However this last week we’ve had several sightings round the cottage. We’re not sure if it is one or two of them – and it’s an important point. Maybe they have been driven to higher ground following the winter floods.
We soon found the reason though. A pile of earth and slate chips (see foreground of the photos below) had been heaped up into the small herb garden – dug out from a hole, which dived deep under the newly created south lawn. It didn’t take long to find who was responsible as our Peter Rabbit was on shift duty all afternoon, collecting moss for a new comfortable burrow.
The pictures tell the story and now we are left with a problem. Rabbits and vegetable growing don’t go well together and planting is due to start this week in the new raised bed.
POSTSCRIPT – 17th March: The hole and the rabbit mystery deepens
Less than 24 hours after taking the photos above we returned today to the rabbit hole to discover that it had been completely filled in with a layer of moss placed on top covering the earth. Does anyone know what has happened here? It was not the work of any humans we are sure. We assume that yesterday was the work of a female rabbit – Petra not Peter! – creating a nest for her expected litter. Did she cover the hole in because the site was too busy or is she in the burrow, having been covered in by a mate? There is no obvious alternative exit that we can see. Let us have your answers and ideas on this.
Tags: 2009 November floods, Lake District cottage, Thornthwaite
Posted in The Larches, Wildlife | 2 Comments »
August 25th, 2009
It’s good to see that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been up holidaying with his family in the Keswick area this month and touring some of our favourite haunts round Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater.
The Lake District Herald (15 August) reports that the PM took an evening launch trip on Derwentwater and was particularly interested in Derwent Isle and the house there (See photo above).
He may not have realised that he’s in good company. Another well known holiday maker in the Keswick area was similarly fascinated by the scene. Beatrix Potter, author of The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, spent several holidays at Lingholm (bottom left of photo opposite) in the early 1900s and had her red squirrels in the book sailing out on wooden rafts across Derwentwater to St Herbert’s Island, 500 yards to the south.
Full details are in Margaret Lane’s excellent book, The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter (pages 108-111). A copy of this is in The Larches’ library.
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August 20th, 2009
We’ve been in Jackson Hole, Wyoming‘s lakeland this last week checking out the differences between Lake District Parks in the US and the UK. (See blog post – Lakeland holiday cottage).
One similarity we’d been expecting was breeding ospreys, but we didn’t get a sight at all – until the day we left. We had noted the strange bundle of sticks on the top of the electricity pole (see photo opposite) the day before but assumed this was an old nest.
Passing the pole on the way out, we could see a head and beak jutting out from the nest and as we stopped there were cries from the young birds. Over the next 30 minutes we were treated to a great display (see below) as parents and young moved around the nest and flew over the ponds.
The difference? Well here in the Grand Teton National Park the birds just get on with their lives oblivious to traffic, noise and humans; and attract little interest from passers by. In Cumbria as one of the prime visitor attractions for the whole of the Park, the ospreys are viewed annually by over 50,000 people from the watch point in Dodd Wood above Bassenthwaite; and for five months they receive 24 hour protection from an army of volunteers.
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