Uncategorised

Blue Flower

Wednesday 11/3/26 A medical appointment and 50mph winds forecast for Thursday meant we had to go on Wednesday this week, it was a dry but windy day.

Last week the wildflower meadow slope and the steep part of the entrance track got churned up where the tractor got stuck towing the big roller, so we got barrows of mole hill soil and filled in the holes and trampled it down.

The mesh tray on the bird feeding station has rusted away, so I measured the pole so we can get a suitable replacement. Eddie filled the feeders, the hooks we made last time make filling the feeders in trees easier as they lift off. Great tits and blue tits came down to eat as usual and a robin was singing in a tree nearby.

We saw a grey wagtail in the river while working on the glass panel which shows a section of the brick floor. The glass was dirty so we removed it and Eddie cleaned it with a bucket of water while I weeded the brick floor underneath.

We had the fire alight in the wagon to heat sausage rolls in the oven above, it was sunny, but too windy to sit outside so we ate them in the wagon.

We had to move two insect hotels last week to get the tractor up the slope, so I moved them back and staked them down today while Eddie cleaned the Perspex panel on the walkway, which protects visitors from the moving hub when we have the water wheel turning at open days.

I took pictures of a swan in the river near our bridge and noticed the dormouse box had fallen off the tree, which still had one of the fittings attached. I found the box in the river nearby so I got it out with a long rake and took it back. I opened it and there were only snail shells in it, so I attached the fittings with longer screws and left it in the sun to dry.

Steve Edwards walked along the Nar Valley Way on Saturday 7/3/26 and took drone pictures of the mill including aerial views which I have added to the Articles section.

I've added a link to the bottom of each new blog article to show what we were doing 10 years ago, these were the early days of working at the mill. I also added a link to Wildlife Seen At The Mill to the Useful Links section.

Graham Bartlett

Interactive Plan Activity Previous Projects Workers -10 Years

Previous Volunteer

Solitary Bee Box

We made our solitary bee box in November 2024, it has Perspex covering slots in the wood so we can watch progress of the eggs and larvae. There is a mud tray on top which bees use to line the slots and seal between each egg cell, they put a final mud plug at the end of the slot.

We noticed the box was being used on 15/5/25 when we saw some slot ends sealed up, we pulled out the cores and saw the slots filled with eggs and pollen.

Female Solitary bees lay an egg with a supply of pollen and nectar in each cell for the larvae to feed on when it hatches. Bees seal each cell with a mud plug in between.

Male eggs are laid towards the front of the slot so they emerge first and are ready to mate the following year.

Female eggs hatch into larvae and eat the pollen, then hibernate for around 11 months in the nest through summer and winter. The following spring, the larvae pupate, turn into adult bees and emerge from their nest.

I made a similar box for my garden which was also partially used.

We will keep watch on the nest box at the mill and keep this page updated with progress.

In late 2025 we noticed the male eggs in the front part of the slots have hatched and left the box, female eggs are still in the back of the slots.

Graham Bartlett

The Little Egret is white with a black beak and yellow feet, its smaller than the Great White Egret which is the size of a Heron. Back to Wildlife