The volunteers were marshalled by the Wychwood Project, a group that encourages people to understand, conserve and restore the rich mosaic of landscapes and wildlife habitats in what was formerly the Cotswold’s Forest - the ancient Royal Hunting Forest of Wychwood, within the boundaries of which Honeydale Farm firmly lies.

In medieval times, this was a place where deer were reserved for the King’s use and at Domesday in 1086, the Royal Forest of Wychwood covered much of what is now West Oxfordshire, stretching from the River Glyme to the east, the River Windrush to the south west, the smaller Sars Brook to the north and a section of the Thames to the south. This area would have also included meadows, cultivated open fields, heaths and downs and was one of the most wooded Forests in England. It fell into a gradual decline following the Tudor period, exacerbated by the Napoleonic wars, when timber was in demand for the navy.

The Wychwood Project, which covers all or part of 41 modern day parishes, from Taynton to Woodstock and from just south of Chipping Norton down to Northmoor, aims to enhance the environmental, cultural and historical features of the landscape, working closely with local communities.

As such, its supporters were very enthusiastic about our tree planting and turned out at Honeydale in force. It was a cold but clear day and it was truly heartening to see people of all ages, from all walks of life and from all over the Cotswolds, as well as further far afield such as High Wycombe and Leicestershire, working together. We had it all done within four hours, planting 2000 saplings including alder, hazel, field maple, willow, dogwood and sweet chestnut, which will later be harvested for firewood and to provide poles for hedge laying.

As modern agricultural practices take much of the blame for the 50% decline in farmland birds, we are putting into place our plans to ensure we provide a little piece of bird heaven at Honeydale Farm!

In addition to all of the planting we have done, which in time should provide fabulous nesting sites and food supplies for the birds, the new habitats that will be created by our flood alleviation work, the supplementary feeding, plus the insect attracting seed mixtures due to be sown in the spring, we have just finished installing cosy bird boxes around the farm.

We have chosen the very long lasting Schwegler Woodcrete nest boxes. They come with a 25 year guarantee and are very solid indeed. We bought several different types to appeal to a wide variety of birds from sparrow terraces, swallow bowls, tit boxes to wren balls, an amazing array of luxury bird homes! We have put most of them around the farm buildings so that we can enjoy watching any inhabitants as they come and go. We inherited 7 feral farm cats when we bought the farm so with some expert advice from Louise Spicer of the Wychwood Project's Bird Aid programme, we had to try and ensure all the nest sites are safe from their attention.

Schwegler advice is that no minimum distance is required between birds. Two species can breed next to each other on the same tree. Depending on the site, (the more natural the better) and the amount of pests, up to 15 nest boxes per acre can be installed in woods, gardens etc.

We are determined to give the birds every chance to start their breeding season well fed and in good health and by providing just a bit of extra housing for some of them we hope to give plenty of them the opportunity to rear a succession of large broods of chicks. If, as we hope, we eventually end up with twice the number of birds on the farm, back to the pre war numbers once seen, can you imagine what double the volume of birdsong will sound like ?!

- Celene Wilkinson

To reduce this wastage we’ve cut back the amount of seed sown to just under a kilo every few days until the temperatures drop and we have evidence that more of the seed is being consumed in the feeding locations.

But if we have If we have more nights like we’ve had these past couple of weeks, with temperatures falling to -1°C, the farmland birds around Honeydale will be more and more in need of the extra food.

Successful shelter-belt establishment

The shelterbelt on the northern edge of the farm has established well, with a uniform covering along the entire length. We are expecting some barley volunteers in the establishment phase, but this should not be a long-term issue and we’re looking forward to seeing the wild flowers in the spring.

Sainfoin

The Sainfoin in the polytunnel has slowed down its growth for the winter but we have generally seen a good take of plants. However there does seem to be some difference in the growth habit with the majority growing to a low height, with a large basal rosette of leaves. A few have a much more upright growth habit and it’s generally these that have flowered this summer.

The usual management technique is to cut or lightly graze a crop of Sainfoin at the end of the first year of establishment to encourage new growth and remove any dead or dying leaves. We have seen some evidence of down mildew on a few plants, which will also be removed during cutting. An Allen Sythe was used to cut the crop at approximately 7 cm, after which the cuttings were removed. We have carried out similar management on a small patch of Sainfoin outside the poly tunnel.

Wild Flowers

The wild flowers were also cut back in a similar manner to the Sainfoin after they had finished flowering in October. Since this was carried out we have some of the species, notably Wild Carrot, Autumn Hawkbit and Ragged Robin, putting up new flower heads. It shows that the cutting rather than decreasing the flowering ability has actually increased the amount of flowers produced by the plant - the Wild Carrot produced 2 flower heads this summer and after cutting in October it now has 17!

Satisfied Sheep!

The sheep have temporarily gone from the Honeydale pasture to allow the grassland a period of rest and recovery which will provide an ‘early bite’ of fresh growth in the spring. It also helps to reduce the worm burden in the soil by stopping the input of worms in the animal faeces for a period.

The plants in the polytunnel have been progressing well, with some of the annual wild flowers now shedding seed after a summer-long display. The Cotswold Common sainfoin plants have established particularly successfully, with some coming into flower. Our plan with this crop is to harvest the seed to preserve this important landrace.

Weaning the Lambs

The ewes and lambs were weaned earlier this month, with the ewes being taken to another pasture on a neighbouring farm in preparation for tupping in the near future. The lambs that have been kept on the Honeydale pasture look extremely healthy and some have been moved to the adjacent hay meadow. The fields they vacated have greened up well during the warm autumn so will offer some first class early grazing in the spring.

Shelter Belt

We have embarked on the creation of a new wildflower area at the top end of the farm, along with a shelter belt of trees to produce a low storey shrubby and glades habitat for farm and woodland birds. The stubble was cultivated by power-harrowing and the seed then broadcast from a quad bike and rolled in with a heavy flat-roll. We eagerly await the spring to see what appears!

Greedy Geese

Since the bales have been cleared from the stubble, we’ve seen an abundance of wildlife on Honeydale, including brown hares crouching on the skyline and several resident deer. Most recently, a flock of Canadian Geese has been grazing on the stubbles most mornings and evenings. We don’t want too many of them though, since they’re notoriously greedy!

October

Filling the Hungry Gap

We had a visit from the appropriately named, Dr Alan Larkman, Chair of the Oxfordshire Ornithological Society, and Louise Spicer and her colleague Claire from BirdAid - which offers a lifeline to birds during winter - who are working together within the Wychwood Project to promote supplementary feeding.

Providing supplementary food for seed-eating birds, such as the Yellowhammer, Grey Partridge, Tree Sparrow, Corn Bunting, Linnet and Skylark, has been shown to significantly increase their chances of survival during the winter months.

From the middle of December to the middle of March, seed-eating farmland birds can struggle to find enough food to sustain themselves. This is known as the ‘hungry gap’ during which natural food sources and sown bird survival mixtures are often exhausted, leaving the lives of some seeding eating species in the balance, especially in harsh freezing winter conditions and cold springs.

New environmental stewardship schemes are providing funding for supplementary feeding but, like many other farmers and landowners, we’re funding it ourselves, using our small seeds - including millet, linseed, oilseed rape and radish.

Half of the land at Honeydale is stubble now - a mix of Barley Volunteer (and Barley Grain) mixed with Field Madder, Dwarf Spurge, Chickweed, Speedwell, Field Pansy, and Rough Hawkbit, which the small farmland birds have been feeding on, so we’ll be supplementary feeding on these areas where the birds seem to be most comfortable.

Louise was delighted to tell us that Corn Buntings have been sighted by a cyclist further down the valley, so we’re hoping they may visit Honeydale soon.

Hedge Fund Management

Ornithologist Dr Larkman was also very excited to see the mature hedgerows at Honeydale which he described as ‘a great asset for the bird community.’ We’re now looking at how best to manage our own ‘hedge fund’, with plans to retain a large area of the hedges and rejuvenate a small percentage by ‘laying’ them, thereby promoting traditional agricultural skills.

Nigel Adams, who grazes his sheep at Honeydale, brought his mower and tractor to cut and bale the hay meadow which produced 130 round bales and a further 40 small bales. The hay was cut on one of the many hot sunny days, so conditions were ideal, and Nigel was pleased that it made really well and was of good quality to use as animal fodder for the winter.

Our malting barley was combined with the help of the Swinbrook estate who arrived with two big tractors and trailers and a 10.5 metre combine complete with drivers. 

I told Jim, who farmed Honeydale for many years before we took it over last year, that the combine was on its way and he was very excited and pleased that our first harvest had been successful. The barley straw has now been baled and sold on to farmers in Wales for livestock bedding, as we don’t have a requirement for it.

 

This means that the 12 month baseline cycle we have been following in order to observe the established practices on the farm before deciding what changes to make is now complete.

What’s particularly important about the barley for us is that it has only been in the ground for four and a half months. During the rest of the year the pattern has been for this field to be left as stubble. While this is an easy and low input method of farming it means that the soil has been left inactive for nearly three quarters of the year and this is something we’re going to change, starting from now. We’re planning to grow as much green matter as possible, to improve the soil and produce greater quantities of food. We’re looking at what we can grow to best improve the fertility and what can be achieved if the soil is more active.

The good thing about the stubble was that the skylarks and hares liked it, but we will still continue to provide some of this habitat on the farm.

Polytunnel

Living on Honeydale over the summer months, I’ve had chance to see what’s been growing in the polytunnel and observe the changes on daily basis.

Earlier in the year we tried to plant a selection of the seeds we sell at Cotswold Grass Seeds and it’s particularly pleasing to see that the sainfoin has established well. There’s a noticeable difference between the growth habitat of some plants with the majority having a large rosette of basal leaves, while some have put up ‘heads’ and are in flower.

The majority of the cover crop examples have also taken and the cornfield annuals have flowered well. The buckwheat was the first to get going and has now gone over, making way for other species such as borage and annuals like crimson and persian clover.

Unfortunately, most of the brassicas have been badly affected by flea beetle which even struck the mustard and fodder radish which flowered early and are now setting seed.



The dwarf sorghum and millet got away quickly though and the sunflower and quinoa are catching up.

From our spring sowing the earliest wildflowers to bloom were the hawkbit, musk mallow and yellow trefoil while the self heal and lady bedstraw are just starting to come into flower now. The yellow rattle and cowslip did not germinate because they need to go through vernalisation (cold snap) first.

Outside the tunnel, I’ve spotted a clutch of 5 partridge chicks at the top of the drive. They’re very young and not flying yet.

As autumn approaches we’re planning on re-directing the watercourse in the middle field away from the hedge and into several shallow pools to create a feature and create better habitats for wildlife.

The bird community of Honeydale Farm is rich and diverse, with a total of 44 species recorded. Of these, at least 24 species were found breeding on site, 9 of which are of conservation interest as nationally declining species.

For its size, the farm has particularly good populations of three bird species which are of conservation priority, having undergone serious national declines in recent decades: Yellowhammer, Linnet and Skylark. These are the most important aspect of the birdlife on the farm.

At least five (and possibly seven) bird species used the farm buildings for nesting: Swallow, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Great Tit, Pied Wagtail (and possibly Wren and Blackbird).

Of the mammals, six medium-large species were recorded: Roe Deer, Muntjac Deer, Fox, Badger, Brown Hare and Rabbit. A further three species of small mammal were recorded (Common Shrew, Bank Vole, Mole), although the survey was not geared to sampling the small mammals, and other species almost certainly occur on site. Grass Snake was also recorded.

Good numbers of Brown Hares are present on the farm, mostly in the barley fields, and as a declining species these are the most valuable aspect of the larger mammal biodiversity.

There is some excellent habitat for farmland birds and mammals on the farm, including impressive ancient hedgerows and the unimproved grassland of the rich and beautiful meadow field, and the close proximity of juxtaposing habitats underpins much of the birdlife.

Some enhancements are possible, such as targeted nestboxes or agri-environment options (field margins and plots), although maintaining some of the existing key habitat features are likely the most important efforts that can be made to securing the bird and mammal conservation interest of the farm.

It was heartening to hear from Nigel that the lambs are doing really well on the permanent grass at Honeydale. Just imagine the results we will get when some proper mixtures are sown!.

Orchids in the Hay Meadow

Malting barley has been grown at Honeydale for many years and as part of our policy of observing the land for twelve months before making any significant changes, we sowed the same this year. It is now fully out in ear and starting to turn in time for us to harvest in the middle of August. We’re fortunate to be able to work with the Swinbrook Estate, which also grow malting barley, giving us access to machinery and combine harvester which we don’t have on our small farm.