Nature
had taken over La Locherie when we found the abandoned farmstead in 1999 and
we have tried to squeeze ourselves in without forcing out too much of the
wildlife that had made its home here. We did have to evict the barn owls from
our chimney, after they were fledged, but they have happily relocated to the
barn, where they, or their descendants, nest most years. Last year they shared
the barn with a pair of nesting kestrels, without any apparent disharmony.
We are not sure if the owls live in the barn during the winter but there is
plenty of evidence that they perch in the rafters to devour their prey during
night-long hunting trips. If you are lucky you might see them at twilight,
swooping out of the barn to hunt low over the fields; in summer, you may hear
the owlets "hissing" in their nest as they demand food. You will also hear
the twit-twoo call of tawny owls and see buzzards soaring high above and sometimes
perching on fence-posts.
Other birds frequently seen include kestrels, sparrowhawks, woodpeckers, jays,
swallows and herons, and we have just tempte the first goldfinches to our
bird feeder to join the more common greenfinches, chaffinches, robins, blackbirds
and great and blue tits. Animals that have been spotted at La Locherie include
the weasel-like stone marten, one (a pair?) of which also shares the barn
with the barn owls; another incongruous pairing, since martens are know for
feasting on bird eggs. The "ferret" that has been spotted a couple of times
crossing the courtyard in winter, once with a white-tipped tail, another time
robed all in white was possibly a stone marten. Red squirrels, hares, deer,
a family of foxes and of course hundreds of rabbits have also been spotted.
We are trying to encourage more wildlife to make their home at La Locherie.
In 2008 we established a small pond and have already seen one batch of tadpoles
mature to join the small colonies of frogs and toads in the garden. There
are no fish in the pond because they tend to decimate other water creatures
that are already moving in, including pond-skaters, water boatmen, damsel
flies and dragon flies. The pond is fenced, but young children should be supervised
at all time, We scattered wildflower seeds over part of the grounds, and hope
to see the results of this next summer. We also planted over 100 hedge and
tree saplings, which should grow to provide habitat for birds - and insects
- as well as adding a few more nesting boxes and feeding stations for them.
At the end of 2009 we acquired another field, which has more than doubled
our grounds, and are planning to plant another 100 trees, and over 300 hedge
plants.
