Kilby WI – Feb ’23
At our January meeting we were treated to a talk about Wildlife in Kibworth by an enthusiastic amateur who is a member of our WI. The speaker was Julie Harrison accompanied by her husband Ian. Julie spoke about the different species of birds and other animals illustrated by superb photographs taken by Ian.
Their garden at home is visited by many different types of wild life. Ponds are provided for water dwellers, flat bluish flowers which are loved by bees and buddleia for the butterflies. As yet they have not had a cuckoo in their garden. These birds are able to throw their voices so it is difficult to locate them accurately. They are well known for ejecting eggs from an established nest and replacing them with their own which are of similar appearance to the host egg. Julie and Ian would also like to see a harvest mouse which uses its prehensile tail to hang on to stalks.
Local Wildlife
Around Kibworth, hares can be seen on the golf course. Around Mill Lane there is a variety of wildlife including foxes, tree creepers and tawny owls, the latter which are sometimes difficult to spot. There are also goldcrests, which weigh about 20p, and wrens which weigh about 50p.
There are a pair of peregrine falcons nesting on Market Harborough church. These are the fastest birds reaching speeds up to 186 miles per hour when diving. We have more red kites at the moment thanks to a national reintroduction programme. These birds were very common and popular in the Middle Ages as they kept the streets clean from carrion; however a bounty was put on their heads and they were almost wiped out. Now we are in a position to send fledged birds to Spain to boost their numbers.
All our ladies enjoyed the talk and next month we are looking forward to Tom Philips talking about chocolate.
Monica Griffiths
Bishop Martyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage – Saturday 11 March
