© 2000 - 2021 Langham Village History Group - Langham in Rutland
A
few
days
into
the
New
Year
and
a
good
time
to
look
at
last
year’s
weather
patterns.
The
lowest
temperature
recorded
was
-6.5⁰C
on
31st
January
and
the
highest
36.6⁰C
on
4th
July.
Rainfall
was
exceptional
last
year.
January, February
and
April
were
dry
with
rainfall
below
average.
May
was
about
average
but
March
was
very
wet
with
rainfall
of
just
over
100mm.
The
months
of
June
through
to
November
were
very
wet,
all
recording
levels
of
over
100mm.
December
just
avoided
making
it
seven
months
of
over
100mm
by
recording
88.6mm.
The
total
rainfall
for
the
year
was
1157.7mm.
I
started
recording
measurements
seriously
ten
years
ago
and
the
previous
highest
total
was
in
2012
at
1043.9mm.
The
intervening
six
years
averaged
out
at
783.3mm.
It
is
dangerous
to
draw
any
conclusions
from
this
data
as
climate
changes
need
to
be
looked
at
over
much
longer
time scales, maybe even hundreds of years.
I
am
wondering
what
has
happened
to
all
the
small
birds
recently.
Yes,
there
have
been
the
odd
visitors
to
the
bird
feeders,
tits
and
house
sparrows
mainly
and
dunnocks
and
robins
in
the
garden
but
not
in
any
numbers
or
with
any
frequency.
I
was
filling
the
feeders
almost
every
day
until
recently
but
now
not
even
once
a
week.
I
wonder
if
this
is
just
here
or
has
anyone
else
noticed
it?
The
larger
birds
are
still
around
in
large
numbers,
particularly
wood
pigeons
in
flocks
of
fifty
or
more.
One
unusual
sight
was
that
of
six
male
pheasants
all
feeding
together
as
a
group.
Obviously they
have
not
started
marking
out
their
breeding
territories.
Black
headed
gulls,
still
in
their
winter
plumage,
have
also
been
making
an
appearance.
The
tawny
owls
have
recently
been
very vocal during the night and seem to have paired up ready for the breeding season.
The
wet
weather
left
a
lot
of
standing
water
in
the
field
at
the
back
of
the
house
which
was
much
appreciated
as
a
bathing
area
for
many
of
the
birds.
Wood
pigeons
and
crows
have
been
the
most
frequent
users.
One
day
the
three
crows
were
having
a
great
time
walking
into
the
water
and
flapping
their
wings
sending
spray
everywhere.
Then
out
they
would
come
have
a
quick
shake
and
back in again. They were there for quite some time.
I
have
also
been
watching
how
different
birds
react
to
food
thrown
out
to
them.
Although
the
crows
are
the
dominant
species,
they
are
also
the
most
careful
and
wary
in
their
approach
to
feeding.
They
land
some
distance
away
and
sidle
forwards,
rarely
in
a
straight
line,
all
the
time
looking
around
them
for
any
threat.
When
they
get
to
the
food
they
make
a
few
tentative
prods
at
it,
jumping
back
each
time,
before
filling
their
beaks
and
flying
off
to
a
safe
distance
to
either
eat
it
or hide it in the grass.
The
other
birds
show
no
such
finesse.
The
magpies
are
usually
first
to
arrive,
often
before
I
have
got
back
in
the
house.
They
land,
grab
as
much
as
they
can
carry
and
fly
off.
The
jackdaws
always
amaze
me.
There
do
not
seem
to
be
any
jackdaws
about
but
soon
one
will
spot
the
food
and
within
a
few
seconds
there
may
be
ten
or
a
dozen
of
them.
Their
technique
is
to
fly
in
swiftly,
grab
some
food,
and
away
as
quickly
as
possible.
The
black
headed
gulls
arrive
in
a
small
flock
and
circle
around
for
a
while
before
swooping
in
and
grabbing
a
piece
on
the
wing.
They
are
easily
spooked
and
then
go
into
another
round
of
circling
before
returning
to
feed.
They
also
have
a
habit
of
mobbing
the
jackdaws
and
try
to
make
them
drop
their
food.
If
they
manage
this
they
are
agile
enough
catch
it
before
it
hits
the
ground.
The
wood
pigeons
are
rather
dozy;
it
is
almost
as
if
they
are
asking
“What’s
going
on
here?”
They land
and
wander
about
pecking
at
crumbs
whilst
mayhem
is
going
on
around
them.
As
you
can
imagine
the
food
doesn’t
last
long,
so
by
the
time
the
crows
have
decided
everything
is
safe
there
is
not
much
left.
However,
what
remains
is
theirs
and
the
other
birds
stay
clear,
apart
from
the
wood
pigeons
that
haven’t
a
clue
what
is
going
on
and
are
tolerated
by
the
crows that seem to regard them as something so far beneath them that they don’t exist.
The
mild
weather
has
seen
the
spring
bulbs
appearing
above
ground
very
early
with
the
snowflakes
the
first
to
appear
followed
by
the
daffodils.
The
border
that
I
dug
over
and
carefully
removed
all
the
grape
hyacinths
from,
now
looks
as
if
I
had
sown
grass
seed.
These
are
all
the
tiny
little
bulbs
that
I
missed.
It
looks
like
it
will
have
to
be
gone
over
again
before
I
plant
anything.
The
first
day
of
January
saw
primroses
and
aconites
in
flower.
Now
is
the
time
when
all
those
lovely
seed
catalogues
arrive.
I
have
resolved
this
year
to
not
be
tempted
too
much
and
cut
down
on
ordering.
We
will
see
how
well
that
goes!
At
the
moment
I
have
restricted
myself
to
a
few
primula
species
including
P.
alpicola,
a
long-stemmed
violet
flowered
species
from
Tibet
and
P.
burmanica,
a
very
tall
fuchsia
flowered
species
from
Yunnan
and
Burma.
I
hope
they
are
as
successful
as
the
P. florindae that flowered this year.
I am always interested in other people’s sightings and comments so don’t forget to
email me
.
Notes from a Field & Garden -
February 2020
Langham & Barleythorpe WI