Bog Myrtle & Peat

Even though we are now into May, I can see no end to the increasing diversity of bird life on the Chayne. Driving along the last half mile track to the farm this afternoon, I came across a pair of territorial peewits. The birds lifted up from the bog by the car and sailed around overhead for fifteen minutes until they lost interest, but they gave me some great opportunities to photograph them. There is something really strange about watching peewits flying, and it was only when I got home and had a look at the pictures that what it is. Their wings are absolutely enormous in comparison to their tiny little bodies, and seeing still photographs really emphasises it.

One of the main aims for this entire project is to encourage ground nesting birds, and peewits must be some of my favourites. They swirl over the Solway marshes in the winter, and I always think that their weirdly mechanical song sounds as if it is made by winding a secret handle on their backs. The fact that I have spotted my first two this year is no doubt a good sign, and I hope that other pairs will be settling on the Chayne. Their diet comprises of worms and insects, and from what I can gather, there is plenty of both in the rough pasture around the farm buildings.

It is always entertaining to have peewits around, particularly since they take guarding their nests very seriously, mobbing crows and buzzards with a courageous and determined swoop.