Bog Myrtle & Peat

Since I started this project, I have seen so many different sides to the farm. To begin with, it was all a blur. There was so much to see and learn that it was hard to concentrate on any details. As time has gone by, the massed confusion has, to some extent, passed by and I can now appreciate individual elements of the moor.

Keeping tabs on the various bird species led me to create a list, which while being fairly loose and ambiguous, has given me an idea of the farm’s avian biodiversity. I had been stuck on 39 for the past three weeks since seeing a heron in the bottom bog, but as I drove away from the farm yesterday, I spotted a tiny shape perched on a stone by the side of the road.

My initial reaction was that it was a juvenile kestrel, but photo evidence displayed at iSpot.com has shown that it was actually a female merlin. I don’t know a great deal about merlins, but, like everything else on this project, I’ll soon learn…