27-12-2024 · The ponies were taken off 9 days ago and there's not much to see in the mist, though the gorse is still flowering moderately.
21-11-2024 · This is the entrance to the only wasp nest we found on our land this year. Surprisingly the wasps are still flying in and out, though seeming to have some difficulty locating their way back.
21-11-2024 · Yesterday it snowed for most of the day. Today we walked up to the meadow to check the water troughs and the ponies, and give the ponies some carrots and pony nuts.
15-10-2024 · Four Dartmoor ponies have arrived, courtesy of the RSPB, to graze the meadow and adjacent field for a few weeks.
12-10-2024 · While resting in a patch of sunshine we noticed a kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) hovering close by above the meadow, the first one I've seen this year. As we carried on with our work the kestrel continued to hunt around us, a delight to watch.
09-10-2024 · View south across the steep part of the meadow. Most of the wildflowers have finished now and it's ready for the moorland ponies to move in for a few weeks.
18-08-2024 · Pollinator insects like butterflies have been badly affected by the cool, wet weather this year, but we did see a few in the meadow, including these two: Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) and Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), along with some Small Whites and Meadow Browns.
18-08-2024 · A raven (Corus corvax) perching high up amongst a group a trees near the bottom of the meadow.
23-06-2024 · The meadow is beginning to look more colourful, with Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) starting to flower, and a few more butterflies appearing. See how effectively the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) blends in with the vegetation when it drops down into the sward.
12-04-2024 · A view from the bottom west side of the meadow, the dampest part. The meadow is colouring-up with yellows of gorse, primrose and celandine. Short video panning round to the south-east, with birdsong. (opens in a popup or separate tab/window).
12-04-2024 · A lone gorse bush (Ulex europaeus) looking splendid in full flower. It's not supposed to be in this spot but clearly nobody told it.
18-02-2024 · A surprise sighting of a small caterpillar of the Oak Eggar Moth (Lasiocampa quercus). It doesn't feed on oak trees - apparently its main food plants are heather and bilberry, neither of which are present, but bramble and hazel are.
28-01-2024 · The Dartmoor ponies were taken off a couple of weeks ago, leaving the meadow ready for the spring. Very few flowers yet - just one or two primroses in the shelter of the hedge.
Meadow on the Hill 2024
