Episode 2.79 - Hayfield Kites and House Martin Mud

Send us Fan MailOn a glorious early-July morning at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner rises at 6 a.m. to follow Neil mowing hay across Cantley Hill. A swirling flock of lesser black-backed gulls and red kites follows the mower, hunting small mammals and insects disturbed by the blades.Later, they watch the tedder fluffing and turning the crop in the intense summer heat, while Chris explains the shift from traditional small bales to modern Heston bales. In the farmyard, a delightful surprise: house martins gathering mud for nests — late arrivals whose origin remains a mystery.A massive honeybee swarm forms a football-sized ball on a pine branch, the old queen and workers seeking a new home. They also admire vibrant sainfoin and colourful wildflowers, including beautiful field bindweed, in the meadows.Listener letters bring warmth: cockchafer beetles (“blind bees”), Scottish hedgerows, summer bird feeding, and more.This episode bubbles with the energy of high summer — ideal for savouring haymaking drama, bee swarms, late-arriving martins, and the colourful meadows of High Ash Farm.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/19441037-episode-2-79-hayfield-kites-and-house-martin-mud.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast [email protected] podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm