23rd January 2024

A Week on the Estate: Storm Isha, Radio Gemma & Glorious Birds

We hope we find you safe and well after another week of wonky winter weather. Between Thursday 18^th and Sunday 21^st January, our daytime highs shot up from 1C to 11C and our overnight lows from -4C to 8C. A stubborn high-pressure system has been forcefully displaced by a sequence of Atlantic storms. At the time of writing, Storm Isha has moved on after an exciting weekend of 60mph+ winds and Storm Jocelyn is coming our way.

The coming weekend’s forecast offers some welcome respite just in time for our bird count. Between 26^th and 28^th January, we’ll get a temperature range of 11C-2C with little-to-no rain and a stiff south-westerly breeze.

We’re chuffed to welcome the South Ormsby Conservation Club, who enjoyed their debut session last week. Gemma Kedzior chatted with Scott Dalton on BBC Radio Lincolnshire last week about this exciting new initiative. To listen again, click HERE (Gemma’s bit is about 1h50m in).

Here’s Gemma: “We meet up twice a month and aim to do mini-projects within the Estate. We’ll help the wild flora and fauna thrive and monitor projects already ongoing to make sure they’re working. Friday 19^th was our first day. We popped up some bird boxes and did some bird surveys in our specially planted winter-bird feeding areas.

“The Conservation Club will get people outdoors and back to nature, looking after our planet for generations to come. We’ll get out, get a bit of exercise and get the natural endorphins going. There’ll always be time for a cup of tea and a chat. What better way to start the day?”

If you’re keen to get involved with the Conservation Club, take a look at the pinned post from 11th January HERE or head to our blog HERE. Aimed squarely at adults, the Conservation Club will meet on the first Wednesday and third Friday of every month. Drop Gemma a line to jump in or ask any questions: gemma.kedzior@southormsbyestate.co.uk .

We’re all aflutter for our brilliant wild birds! Last weekend, Jon gave Lincs Birding a tour of the Estate and they saw some bobby dazzlers. Farmer Mike saw hundreds of bramblings a stone’s throw from Sheepdip Paddock and Phil Espin counted 41 species around the parkland. Not to be outdone, Damian snapped a treecreeper and a redwing as well as greylags, teals and a heron.

If this has whetted your appetite for all things avian, don’t forget that the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch runs between Friday 26th and Sunday 28th January. As well as helping out the RSPB, we’d love our nature-loving friends and followers to take a walk around South Ormsby Estate over that weekend and do their own wild-bird counts.

For instructions, see the pinned post at the top of our Facebook page HERE. We’re always thrilled to see the results of bird counts and it gives us a clear and vivid idea of how well our regenerative approach is working.

You can find the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch HERE, our free Estate walking routes HERE and a flavour of what you might see HERE courtesy of Phil Espin.

Finally, after another week of wild, wintry weather, we thought you might enjoy a mindful moment with our charismatic trees.

Thanks to Jon and friend for the words and Damian for the pics:

‘The ancient woods of the Estate are a mystical realm where each tree is a guardian of history. These venerable trees, standing tall through centuries, share whispered tales with those who meander beneath their canopies. These stories, woven from the fabric of time, speak of past loves, hidden treasures and the simple beauty of nature’s cycle. As one walks through these woods, they feel the gentle brush of history, like a soft breeze, revealing the Estate’s rich tapestry of life and legend.’

If you’d like to join the conversation, we’d love to hear from you. Just head to our Facebook page HERE and comment beneath the latest blog post. As ever, thanks for your support.

A Week on the Estate: Storm Isha, Radio Gemma & Glorious Birds

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