Chris Skinner is up at the crack of dawn on the 1st of May to capture the sounds of the morning at High Ash Farm. Part of daily duties involve checking in on the swallows.

Matthew Gudgin joins later on in the sunshine and the pair begin their journey around the farm by looking at crab apple trees.

Chris and Matthew head to a bird hide and Chris explains the unusual behaviour of the male rooks he’s been noticing. They’ve worked out a new way to get essential water to the females rooks in the nest.

They both come away with plenty of nettles stings whilst looking at the delicate plants on the woodland floor, but it was worth it!

Listener questions cover ladybirds, water levels and honey bees.

Click here to download the MP3 file of this episode.

We are excited to announce the arrival of our first piece of merchandise for Chris Skinner's Countryside Podcast.

We have 100 limited edition tote bags featuring our original podcast artwork

They’re available to look at and order at SOUNDYARD.org/chris

The price is £20 plus £3.50 postage. And that’s because after the cost of the tote bag your money is donated directly towards the sustainability and production of this podcast.

Click here to donate to the podcast.

If you have a question that you'd like Chris to answer on the podcast, send an email to: chris@countrysidepodcast.co.uk

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