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Our monthly columnist from the Scottish Highlands A long-time associate of Vine House Farm is Roger Hughes, who now lives in the north of Scotland and the beautiful county of Sutherland. Roger helps u
The middle of April is an important time for migrant birds, plus also a fascinating one as it represents a short spell when the species which have been with us all winter and are yet to depart for the
The Swift is one of the most iconic birds of the British summer. Arriving relatively late as a migrant from Africa in the last week of April and the first week of May, then leaving early to return bac
Our monthly columnist from the Scottish Highlands A long-time associate of Vine House Farm is Roger Hughes, who now lives in the north of Scotland and the beautiful county of Sutherland. Roger helps u
A recent visit by Environmental minister Richard Benyon to Hillesden farm in Buckinghamshire has highlighted the so called hunger gap for farmland birds between mid-winter and spring when naturally oc
Feeding garden birds is a great way of being able to get birds closer to you and your family by inviting them into your garden. Vine House Farm’s simple chart, below, helps people to identify birds
Our monthly columnist from the Scottish Highlands A long-time associate of Vine House Farm is Roger Hughes, who now lives in the north of Scotland and the beautiful county of Sutherland. Roger helps u
According to Shakespeare the 14th February is when birds traditionally start to pair up for the breeding season. The BTO launched National Nest Box week in 1997 and it runs from 14th February every ye
I have always liked to use what I had on the farm rather than go and buy something so when I heard about straw burners to heat houses in the late seventies I thought that sounded like a good idea, as
Birds like to use our gardens for additional feeding throughout the year – but it is when food is at its most scarce that they will use our gardens most. Wild creatures’ basic needs are the same a
We started ploughing some land yesterday and by the end of the day there were about 500 Lapwings on the ploughing picking up grubs and worms. Where did they all come from? Aren’t they clever at find
Introducing our new monthly columnist A long-time associate of Vine House Farm is Roger Hughes, who now lives in the north of Scotland and the beautiful county of Sutherland. Roger helps us with a ran
The surface feeding ducks have found the wet weather a bit of a bonus. The floods have floated seeds which had fallen amongst the grasses out of sight, and these seeds, along with drowned insects, are
Every year here at Vine House Farm we sow wild bird cover as part of the Countryside stewardship scheme. It consists of several different seeds but there are two plants that I have sown that retain th
Compared to previous years, last summer’s poor weather resulted in depleted fruit harvests throughout the country – and that means birds’ natural food sources suffer. Consequently, many birds ar
Figures from a Government report into the population of wild birds provides cause for concern. Coupled with one of the worst breeding seasons in generations, some species of wild birds are faced with