Bibbey’s Wild Farms
300 Acres of Nature-friendly farming on the urban fringe and West Midlands/Worcestershire border at Hunnington. Demonstration farms for Brum Biosphere project #NatureFriendlyFarming
- We have been praying for better weather this year after the #ButterflyEmergency was declared by @savebutterflies.bsky.social last year! It’s early days but was nice to record 34 butterflies along our recording transects today: 25 Peacock 6 Comma 2 Small Tortoiseshell 1 Holly Blue 😎
- It’s always fascinating on the farms when the seasons are turning! Most of our wintering finch & bunting left last week. This morning there were 600+ birds, mainly passing migrants with an increasing element of returning local breeders It’s always nice to see Treecreeper & Grey Wagtail 😎
- Stonechat were infrequent passage birds here before we started Countryside Stewardship work! How things change! A day later than 2024’s record-breaker (9) there were 8 Stonechat on the farms today Breach is the stronghold for Yellowhammer so it’s great to see numbers building at Oatenfields too
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- Hi Matt. The female XC left us last month and the four other birds (2 infrequent) had already moved on meaning that all 8 of today’s were on passage and none of them were wearing bling @saxicolaobs.bsky.social @westmidlandsrg.bsky.social
- The wetter, milder conditions have reduced finch & bunting numbers on the farms to below 1,000 but it was great to see 30+ Yellowhammer & 7+ Reed Bunting today C200 Redwing & 3 Little Egret at Bibbey’s Hollow were notable We have a 2nd RN Parakeet nest site! 😳 The Dingles are awakening! 😎
- The snow has brought a further influx of finch and bunting with 1,514+ present on the farms this morning! 893+ Linnet 500+ Chaffinch 40 Goldfinch 23 Yellowhammer 20 Siskin 15 Greenfinch 10 Redpoll 8 Reed Bunting 4 Bullfinch 1 Brambling If another 150 birds arrive then it will set a new record
- Finch & Bunting numbers continue to rise on the farms with the latest cold spell 1,304 present today: Linnet 750 Chaffinch 450 Goldfinch 50+ Greenfinch 15+ Yellowhammer 14 Siskin 10 Redpoll 5 Reed Bunting 5 Bullfinch 4 Brambling 1
- It was great to record 10 species of finch & bunting at Oatenfields today whilst topping up the feeding stations there and planning for 2025 It was also good to see that Yellowhammer numbers have risen to 15+ after a poor autumn 20+ Siskin 10+ Redpoll 5 Reed Bunting Brambling #BrumBiosphere
- It was great to record 1,139 finch & bunting on the farms today: 500 Chaffinch 465 Linnet 140 Goldfinch 14 Greenfinch 10 Yellowhammer 5 Reed Bunting 4 Bullfinch Brambling Female Stonechat “XC” (WestMids) and a pair (Worcs) remain. Also male Goosander south, Little Egret & 38 Meadow Pipit
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- Hi Sue. The birds range between 9 nature-friendly resources across the 300 acres but the most reliable public spot ATM which @jmc223.bsky.social can confirm is by the golf range at the end of Quarry Lane. Also wait for flocks to lift at the south end near the footpath above Breach farm
- This time last year 2023 - Female Reed Bunting seen at @bibbeyswildfarms.bsky.social Hunnington, North Worcestershire UK #birds #nature #ornithology #ukbirding #uknature #ukwildlife #canon #photography #birdphotography
- Hi John. Between 5 and 8 Reed Bunting are onsite at the moment so a great chance for you to get more under your belt when you visit for your Christmas Yellowhammer! 😂 Best, as always, @chris4patches.bsky.social 👍👌
- We’re proud to be part of the #BrumBiosphere We’ll be working with 300 other farmers & land owners to restore nature and feed it into the city along its green & blue wildlife corridors You can find out more, pledge your support and buy artwork here: team4nature.co.uk/brum-biosphere
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View full threadA local farm @bibbeyswildfarms.bsky.social specialises in nature friendly farming and plants a bird food crop alongside their normal business. Recent count of nearly 300 chaffinch along with 350+ Linnet. Fantastic to see Dave. Great work going on there.
- Thank you John not only for being our “photographer in residence” that produces stunning images of our wildlife, but also for the passion and positive energy that you bring to the farms. Wishing you a wonderful weekend 👌
- It was great to welcome Jess Stuart-Smith & @fergh.bsky.social @westmidlandsrg.bsky.social back today - more on that later 👌 There’s now 8+ Reed Bunting on site and 650+ Linnet & Chaffinch with a Brambling amongst them @chris4patches.bsky.social followed a Kingfisher along the Stour afterwards 😎
- @Chris4Patches had a fabulous session today monitoring post-thaw habits of finch & bunting on the farms (predictably off the supplementary food & onto crops, paddocks & dingles) The Merlin was seen again, this time at Breach Also 2 Snipe, 350+ Linnet, 290+ Chaffinch & plenty of portly Greenfinch!
- A short visit to @bibbeyswildfarms.bsky.social last night for our 1st thermal survey of the season here, saw us add a new Jack Snipe to our DNA project, a Skylark and redwing also ringed. Woodcock, Common Snipe also seen.
- Hi guys. Another exciting winter is unfolding already with interesting records, outcomes and theories developing to inform the conservation effort. Thank you for the passion commitment and positivity that you always bring to the farms 👏👌
- 960+ finch & bunting were on the farms this morning: Linnet 565 Chaffinch 350 Goldfinch 20 Greenfinch 15 Yellowhammer 5 Reed Bunting 4 Brambling 1 4 Stonechat have also arrived on site to hopefully keep “XC” company Also all 4 #BrumBiosphere Birds of Prey (Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk)
[Not loaded yet]- Hi Phil. 1,065 Linnet 11/3/23 515 Chaffinch 10/12/22
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- Hi Matt. I was pleased to see the Linnet numbers climbed. I feel that the extras have been pulled in from the local landscape and are not the ones spooked before fireworks. The Stonechat has blown the wintering numbers away. Crazy to think that three years ago they were only occasional passage! 🤠
- More @btobirds.bsky.social science @bibbeyswildfarms.bsky.social : Linnet numbers still low after fireworks with 355 today. Some are ringed so looking forward to exploring this with @westmidlandsrg.bsky.social Parakeet are on former Stock Dove territory already Stonechat “XC” is still on her own
- We now have a follower for every acre of our farms! And 300 is our lucky number! MASSIVE THANKS to everyone that is following our journey We have a load of exciting developments to share over the coming weeks to help farmland birds and take our work beyond the farm gates so please “stay tuned” 😎
- The finch flocks are building nicely on the farms with 551+ Linnet 140+ Chaffinch 25+ Greenfinch and 1st Brambling of the autumn recorded on the transect today Female Stonechat “XC” looks settled and is using the hedgerows as corridors to range across the Worcs & West Mids sections of Breach Farm
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- Hi Matt. Yes, late arriving this year but 3 are in at the moment. Numbers usually swell after the Linnet, during November so fingers crossed for another record-breaking Reed Bunting winter 🤞🤞
- This year’s early autumn’s Linnet flock varies between 150-180 birds instead of the usual 175-225, suggesting a poor breeding season locally 1st 2 Reed Bunting today, 2 weeks later than 2024 Also 37+ Skylark & 35+ Redwing 20+ Chaffinch were new in. A Stonechat was “next door” at Tack Farm
- Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #6,205,060!
- There were plenty of Dragonflies on the wing around the farms today today including some stunning Southern Hawkers A Meadow Field Syrph (Eupeodes latifasciatus) was also enjoying the late afternoon sun 😎
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- Hi Gert. They are spreading rapidly and bred for the first time on the farms this year after being recorded for first time just a couple of years ago. The young appear to have been predated though so the species might find it hard against a greater number/range of predators out in the countryside?
- Great News for the Red-listed Greenfinch! 24 were recorded on the farms this morning, including loads of youngsters! This is the highest count since 2001 and numbers don’t tend to peak in recent years until the first week of September 🤞
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- That would be amazing Matt and that’s the kind of spirit that helps turn things around. It’s just so good to see a bird that was only recently added to the Red-list bouncing back so well here 🤞🤞
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- Hi Matt. It appears that our local breeding population have traditionally moved off in the Autumn (partial of full migration) and for so far we have not been able to attract many wintering birds that, like Reed Bunting take time to tempt and then build site loyalty so ATM numbers peak soon 👍
