Swallows over the Scrape!

A good example of how quickly wildlife, especially birds, can utilise new landscape features:

Today, 26th April 2015  Barn Swallows were seen hunting aerial insects low over the water in the new scrape, created last autumn as a large drainage basin. It is also popular with numbers of starlings, blackbirds and woodpigeons. During this long dry spell it has been a good source of still water and damp mud for birds, being clearly visible from the air adding diversity to the riverine landscape.

The Scrape - easily spotted from the air by passing birds

Further north the river meanders amongst old oaks, with once bare banks

now carpeted with Wild Garlic.