Lancashire wildlife

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

Recent bird sightings mentioned by our guests include a whimbrel, a couple of mergansers, oystercatchers and sand martins. Just the other night I and 2 of our visitors enjoyed watching a pair of bats racing past just above our heads. You are nearly always guaranteed to see them as dusk falls - very entertaining.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

This email was sent to us by a member of the Manx Arms Ramblers, 8 of whom stayed at Foxhill Barn recently while walking the Ribble Way. They were obviously delighted with their wildlife sightings.

Hello Peter & Janet,

As promised, a note to say thank you for a great nights stay and for going that extra step to make our walk enjoyable.

The rest of the walk went well with a much better amount of signposts to help us along. The weather stayed with us for the rest of the trip and we managed to complete the whole walk for Sunday afternoon.

We were lucky enough to see three deer crossing the river , in the location you described as being detoured due to land dispute. This was really a treat we did not think could be bettered until we spotted otters a few miles out of Preston.

Altogether a great trip.

All the best Paul and the Manx Ramblers

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

Two of our guests who stayed last night went for a walk up "Weets", which is the closest of Lancashire's 3 peaks to Foxhill Barn and joins the Pendle Way up to its summit. They told us how impressive the views are, and were delighted to see a pair of plover flying around close by.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

Lots of beautiful primroses are now in full bloom near Foxhill Barn. You can find them by following one of the OS footpaths leading to Bracewell.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

Jan & I were coming back from Clitheroe last Sunday evening when we saw a badger cross the road right in front of us. It was between Downham and Rimington, just after we'd climbed out of the dip at Twizzles Bridge. The only other time we've seen badgers round here is a couple of years ago when we saw 3 of them running up Howgill, just past Howgill Farm. They ran in front of the car for several yards before slinking off through a gap in the hedge - a truly amazing sight.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

Within an hour of us putting up our new bird "table" we were getting a variety of birds feeding, with blue tits being the most common. Here is one of yesterday's visitors.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

I went for a walk this morning to take in the full splendour of the stunning panorama you can see when you look North from Foxhill; Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent still wearing their snowy caps, Whernside only revealing itself from a higher vantage point when the light catches it at just the right angle, allowing you to distinguish between normally blurred horizons. My photo, taken from our yard this morning, really doesn't do this magnificent view justice.

These beautiful views of Pendle are the ones that greet us when we open our front door. Bonny, our pony, is always to be found nonchalantly grazing in the foreground.

Here at Foxhill the autumn colours are now in their full glory. During a recent walk down the lane we saw a large flock of longtailed tits working their way along the hedgerow. The flock was about 20 strong. At this time of year it is common for species of tits to congregate in flocks - either the same species or many species together. Fieldfares have also arrived. On another walk we also saw a pair of tawny owls. Since getting our chickens about 6 weeks ago we are now attracting some of the local pheasant population on a regular basis. They are getting tamer and we expect they will be around for the foreseeable future.

Not many fungi as yet, probably because it's been relatively dry. The next few weeks should be a good time for fungi foraging, especially because our local lanes have a good selection of dead wood, providing the perfect conditions.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

These 3 chicks were minding their own business in one of our outbuildings till I came along and disturbed them. This is just one of several nesting places we have for the swallows.

If anybody can give me some assistance in siting bird boxes I wouuld very much appreciate it.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

Is it me or are there more pheasants around than usual this year? Not a day goes by without seeing at least one of them trying to run off without being spotted. And if you can't see them you can certainly hear them!

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

Wagtails and yellow finches are now flying about, dipping and weaving everywhere. Wild poppies with their glorious red are appearing and also their counterpart the icelandic poppy. The mayflower is now more abundant and cow parsley is starting to appear.
Owls can be heard in the evening communicating with one another and the pheasants also with their familiar loud screeching sound.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

More swallows have now arrived and it's wonderful to hear their chatter as they prepare their nests. In the evenings you can watch them swoop over the fields as they catch the midges in the cool of the evening.

The blackthorn is now in flower and it's great to see the hedgerows alive with its blossom. The mayflower has started to appear although a little earlier than expected; maybe it's a sign that a good summer is expected. Local farmers are predicting a hotter summer due to the fact that twins and triplets have been born. Let's hope!

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

It's great to see the swallows back. The first two arrived a couple of weeks ago. They are so entertaining to watch in full flight. We can't decide how many there are now - maybe only four but sounds more like a dozen when they get chatting.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast

What a glorious week we've just had ! We spent as much of the week as possible in our allotment, preparing outside beds for planting and marvelling at how much drier the ground is. This week may be a different story apparently. Really looking forward to the clocks going forward at the weekend.

By the way, if anyone has any advice on siting bird boxes please leave a message.

Foxhill Barn Bed & Breakfast