Dear Wild Finca Community,

The Egyptian Vultures have returned! I (Katie) saw my first a few weeks ago, soaring over Roan's school, but until yesterday Luke still hadn't seen one, and considering he is outside most hours of the day we were starting to get worried. Then, with the warm weather, a whole host of avian life took to the skies and we enjoyed watching them all yesterday morning, whilst taking down some fencing. And then, not one but a pair of Egyptian Vulture appeared and lazily circled the skies above us. It was quite an emotional moment.

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Anyone who follows the comings and goings of their local migratory birds will agree, that waiting for their return each spring can be very nerve wracking. The migrants we have gotten to know the best, who are back now, include Grasshopper Warbler, who are reeling away from all corners of Wild Finca. We've had Short Toed Eagle hunting over the fields most days. We've heard but not yet seen a Wryneck in the usual spot. And a couple of days ago our Swallow pair, who have for the past three years nested in the dog's room, arrived back and got straight to repairing last year's nest. We've just been sat in the veggie patch, having a cup of tea, and one of the Swallow pair joined us, perching on a climber we have for beans, chirping away. I am sure it regales us of tales of what it's been up to this winter in Africa, what it has seen on its mammoth journey back to us. Such a little character, the Swallow.

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Yesterday Luke and I spent the morning removing some old fencing at Wild Finca, and took great pleasure in spotting as many bugs as we could. Highlights included a Glowworm and a Leaf Beetle (which we needed help identifying, and fortunately entomologist and judge of our Bug Art Competition, Ash Whiffin, was able to help us out!)

Then, after picking the boys up from school and nursery, we headed to a new patch of land Wild Finca has recently acquired, which has a beautiful stream running through. It was warm so we stripped off and went for a paddle. A Caddisfly Larvae was spotted first, and then Roan spied not one, but two Water Scorpions! Did you know that Water Scorpions are not true scorpions, they’re actually aquatic insects that use their long, tube-like "tail" as a snorkel to breathe while submerged. We mooched upstream passing about seven different species of butterflies and, on a fallen log that required ducking to pass under, we found a giant harvestman type spider.

But, and here's the brilliant news, you don't have to go somewhere special to find a bug to get creative with! We've already started receiving some incredible entries for our Bug Art Competition but we just had to share this one with you, by George, aged 8, of a Six Spot Ladybird he found on his way to Aldi.

If you haven't yet received your Bug Art Competition Rules and Top Tips for Spotting Bugs guide, just click on the link to get them.

And if you have any questions feel free to tag us and our co-hosts for the competition (@wildfinca & @erigtheearwig) or expert judge Ash Whiffin (@ash_whiffin) on Instagram. If you don't have Instagram, or prefer not to use mainstream social media, we have a great Wild Finca Community space called the Nature Finds Forum where you can also ask any ID questions you might have!

Finally, we are delighted to share that Luke's interview, as part of being a Champion for Rewild Yourself 2025, is now live and you can watch it below. We hope you enjoy it!

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Before you go we'd love it if you could have a look around our website, we've updated it recently and we'd love to hear your thoughts. Perhaps there's something you feel is missing?
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From our wild corner to yours,

Katie, Luke, Roan & Albus of Wild Finca

www.wildfinca.com