Wildlife, flora and fauna
All have been seen on or from Blakelow Farm and Cottages. If you
see any wildlife that isn't on this list, please let us know, or
write it in the “Journal” in your cottage.
For more information about wildlife around Derbyshire click here to visit the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's website.
Visitors can also experience the Blakelow's wildlife nature trail.
| MAMMALS | |
| Badger | Seen usually at night, but evidence that they are still around from their ‘latrine' at the far corner of the wild garden |
| Muntjac and Fallow Deer | Seen in mid winter occasionally in our fields – they may be escapees from Chatsworth? |
| Shrew | Seen dawn and dusk in many areas around the farm |
| Bat | Mainly Pipistrelle, we believe, we started with just 2 but have now regularly seen 6, bat nests were put into the eaves of all our new buildings |
| Brown Hare | Usually more common in the spring – in our fields, after the hay has been cut they move to long grass of the labyrinth for day time cover |
| Grey Squirrel | Generally raiding the bird feeders – they are cute though! |
| Rabbits | Not as many as you'd think - on the long border and nibbling my lettuces! |
| Fox | Seen on the lane and we've lost a couple of our hens of the field in the winter months |
| Field Mice | There are lots around, and can be quite cheeky if you are putting bread out for the birds – the birds don't get a look in. |
| WATER LIFE | |
| Newt | In the big trough in the front garden |
| Frog | Mainly in the front garden |
| Damsel fly | Occasionally seen over the trough |
| Toad | Can be found all over the garden and in the long grass of the fields – great for pest control. |
| BIRDS | |
| Chaffinch | Trees and gardens |
| Greenfinch | In the gardens |
| Goldfinch | On the heads of the Angelica |
| Yellowhammer | Seen in farmyard in the past, but in 2007 have been seen in our garden |
| Owl | Several different ones can be heard hooting at dusk, including the Little Owl |
| Robin | Lots in the gardens and hedgerows |
| Dunnock | |
| Swallow | Nest in the stables every year and raise at least 2 broods |
| Skylark | Nest in our top fields, lovely to hear their song |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | On the feeder in the Beech tree |
| Blue Tit | On the bird feeders |
| Wren | On the stone walls and hedges |
| Pheasant | Seen in the gardens and fields |
| Partridge | Seen on our top field |
| Coal Tit | On the bird feeders |
| Curlew | Seen and heard mainly in the spring - nests in the top field |
| Kestrel | Over the fields |
| Rooks and Crows | Raiding the chicken feeders! |
| Magpies | Seen in the fields and trees |
| BUTTERFLIES and MOTHS | |
| Painted Lady | Occasional migrant visitor from the south! |
| Small tortoiseshell | |
| Red Admiral and Peacock | On the Buddleias and Sedums |
| Elephant Moth | On the Irises – it frightened me to death – it was like a Jack Russell with wings! |
| Comma | |
| Green Veined White | |
| Orange Tip | Spotted in April and May 2007 |
| Large White | On my cabbages! |
| Speckled Wood | |
| Wall | |
| Gatekeeper | |
| Meadow Brown | |
| Burnett Moth | Spotted in summer and autumn 2006 |
Get close up and personal with Blakelow's wildlife nature trail
This beautiful area of The Peak District known as the “White Peak” is extremely special to us and we are determined to treasure and protect our wonderful natural heritage. We constantly try to improve the many and varied wildlife habitats.
We cut our hedges late in the season, when the young birds have left the nest. We retain the height, but allow light to reach all sides of the plants. Gaps have been filled with new hedging plants. A mix of hedge-types is preferred by wildlife. Some birds, such as the yellowhammer, prefer shorter, dense hedging, but a redstart had chosen to nest in a hole in the Leylandii… The most common type of hedge plant around the farm is hawthorn and beech, but a variety of plants can be found in these hedges: blackthorn, honeysuckle, crab-apple, different types of mountain ash, willow, dog rose and bramble.
In early spring you can see clumps of white blossom on bare spiky branches of blackthorn. Later, the tall old hawthorn are covered in drifts of white May blossom. They are quite spectacular!
The fields here are very old permanent pasture, which means that they have never been used or disturbed except to graze animals. As a result of this there is a wonderful collection of native grasses and plants: violets, primroses and common spotted orchids all grow in profusion.
We
have mown a path through our meadows to protect rare species and the
ground nesting birds such as curlews and skylarks.
The bottom of the field has some wet areas, where marsh marigolds, meadow sweet, flag iris and water avens can be found. These wet areas are great habitats for frogs and toads.
One problem that we have to deal with is the extensive growth of nettles and thistles. Years ago farm hands controlled these weeds by scything them down before they had time to spread. In today's hectic 21st century world, time is too precious to use this method and manpower expensive. Agriculturists can use modern chemical sprays to control nettles and thistles, however, as these need to be very strong to kill tough weeds, certain wildflowers are destroyed as well.
So we put up with them and consol ourselves with the fact that they provide great habitat for caterpillars and other insects.
Our guests can enjoy the peace and the tranquility of the
surrounding fields by using the footpath that runs through both
fields, take a picnic or just lie on their backs listen to the
skylarks and watch the clouds tumble by… it takes you right back to
childhood summers!
We have bird boxes in the trees and bat holes built into the cottages during their renovation. Take a peek out at dusk and watch the bats darting about, they are fascinating to see.
There are bird feeders near all our cottages… please feel free to use them, especially in the winter months, the wild birds will be very grateful.
We have rotting log piles providing shelter for insects, frogs and hedgehogs.
Every year swallows return to Blakelow to nest in the stables raising at least 2 broods, you can often hear them chattering on the roofs and fences.
Blakelow has its own bees … but still no honey!
Beekeeping impinges on many aspects of our lives. It brings
together those interested in improved agricultural production and
the well-being of the countryside, gardening and education, food and
cooking, and ancient craft skills as well as scientific work.
As a novice beekeeper I find it's so absorbing. When you get into the hive you're just looking at the bees, wondering what's going on, searching for the queen. There's always something to do, beginners wear gauntlets, I wear very thin gloves so I can feel the bees on my fingers. It's a much more tender way of doing things.
It seems ironic to find peace in a hive buzzing with thousands of bees. (One hive can support between 10,000 and 50,000.) But this is the reason I keep bees. It's not the honey, the promise of wax candles and mead or any of the other by-products that does it for me. It's the bees and being at one with nature.
You can never get the bees to like you but you can get them to dislike you. Being rough, moving too fast and causing a disturbance is the way to get stung. If you want to keep bees you will get stung. That's what they always tell you. And it's true.
Here are some Bee Facts for you:
- Bees fly 24,000 miles collectively and visit between three and nine million flowers to make just one pound of honey. Some of the flowers include dandelion, raspberry, blackberry, coneflower, bluebells, wallflower, poppy, white clovers, goldenrod, and heather. If someone has allergies to these flowers, it is believed there is a beneficial anti-allergy effect by taking raw honey which contains trace amounts of their pollen. It is preferable to purchase honey from a local beekeeper near to your home, to ensure it contains the pollen you may be allergic to
- According to fossil records, bees first appeared on earth about 150 million years ago, whereas us humans have probably only been around for 200,000. Bees are far more evolved than we are
- Bees cruise at about 15 mph but can fly at speeds of up to 20 mph
- Bees never sleep
- When flying, a bee will beat its wings about 180 times per minute
- The chemical that makes a bee sting itch is called mellitin
- A bee can see 300 frames per second
- Honey bees have hair on their eyes
- The oldest known record of human's interest in honeybees is a drawing on a cave wall in eastern Spain, which is dated to approximately 8,000-11,000 years old. It depicts a man climbing a ladder to collect honey from a nest. Similar drawings have also been found in caves in Zimbabwe and South Africa
- Ancient records show that beekeeping originated about 6,000 years ago in both China and Egypt
- The pollen baskets on a honey bee are situated on their legs and are called 'corbicula'
- Nectar is carried in the crop/honey stomach
- The average worker bee will fly approximately 500 miles before it wears out and dies
- A queen bee has to eat 80 times her own weight to produce 2,000 eggs per day
- A bee will visit 50-100 flowers during one trip
- A bee must tap 2 million flowers to make 1lb of honey and would have to fly 55,000 miles to get it
- One bee will make 0.8g (1/10 of a teaspoon) of honey during her lifetime
- Mead is made from fermented honey
- Drambuie is a Scottish liquer which is made from honey.