Episode 2.79 - Hayfield Kites and House Martin Mud

On 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=true