On the 2nd December Josh and Harry started work on repairing the stream bed between the two ponds. They worked on it for three days and by the end of the week the stream was flowing beautifully, long may it continue. On the 3rd we had a dry day with unusually, a blue sky, a Buzzard was seen on the tall telegraph pole above the winter bird crop and there were several Yellowhammer in the Blackthorn of Pennsland Lane hedge.
Harry cut part of the hedge above the Wildlife Tower on the 5th, it had been laid 2 winters ago, the cut was to allow a view into the Kestrel provision where a Barn Owl had been roosting. On the 6th a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk were seen over winter bird crop. A female Hen Harrier was spotted over the lower part of the Main Field, it flew over Waterleat Wood and up the Ashburn valley. A Grey Wagtail was on the Oakley Pond. 
Later in the day a Buzzard was back on the telegraph pole and a small flock of birds flew up out of the crop, a single Mistle Thrush flew up out of the rough grass by the crossroads.
Storm Darragh hit us on the 7th and 8th. Here the rain wasn’t unusually heavy in fact there was none on the 8th but the wind was remarkable. We are based in the bottom of a valley so are quite sheltered and our 19-year average wind speed for the month is less than 2.7mph, however on the 7th it was 11.8mph and the 8th 12.2mph. We recorded our strongest gust of wind, 50mph, at 18:30 on the 7th, our previous high was 44mph. Amazingly we didn’t lose any trees on the reserve, but several small branches came down.
On the 9th Harry dug out the water pipe from the orchard hedge to the trough in North Park, in preparation for moving the trough before starting the groundworks for the 3rd field shelter.
Mateo led a Winter Bird Watching Walk with four visitors on the 10th. A total of 24 species were observed, with highlights being Goldcrest and Tree Creeper in the neighbouring woodland (seen from the Apprentice Path) and a small but conspicuous flock of Fieldfare in Forde Orchard. On the 11th a Barn Owl was seen hunting in main field above solar panels before flying over hedge into Kiln Close. A pair of Ravens flew south over the Main Field and a party of 4 Bullfinch were in the North Park hedge near the Polebox on the 17th.
On the 19th Harry and volunteers Steve & Miriam, cleared brambles from the Bluebell patch in corner wood. There were Fieldfare in the orchard and two male and one female Bullfinch in the hedge between Top Field and North Parke, near Pensland Lane. The fallen apples in the orchard are disappearing fast and flocks of Fieldfare and Blackbirds have been spotted feeding there. Hedge laying resumed on the 20th with Harry, Pip and Daniel continuing work on the Pensland Lane hedgerow. Harry cooked potatoes in the brash fire with lots of beans and cheese! A Greenfinch was seen in the trees near the hospital release aviary and a Mistle Thrush in the scrub along the east edge of Top Field.
The 23rd and 24th were dry but grey but we had some blue sky on Christmas morning. On Boxing Day the sky was grey again and the valley misty.
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- 22nd December
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- 27th December
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- 27th December
We had great views of a Barn Owl in the Main Field on the afternoon of the 30th. It was first seen on the North Park Polebox and then flew over to some large Sycamore trees by the orchard. After a couple of minutes two Magpies mobbed it and it flew off circling the valley, dropping down into the old winter bird food crop area and then returned to sit on the Polebox. Pictures aren’t great but we thought worth sharing.
The mean temperature for the month was 7.7°C, warmer than our 19-year average of 7.15°C but 1°C cooler than December 2023 (8.7°C). We had 118.8mm of rain over 18 days, less than our 172.29mm 20.26-day average and significantly less than 2023 when we had 298mm over 27-days. Over the year we recorded 1,866.3mm of rain making this the 2nd wettest year here since 2006. The wettest was 2023 with 2,060. What was record breaking about the month, other than the number of grey days, was the wind gust of 50mph recorded on the 7th during storm Darragh.