Stenton
Since the Countryside Premium Scheme started in 1997, farmers are now paid to farm in an environmentally friendly way. New woods and shelterbelts were planted and some hedgerows were reinstated. The CPS, and its successor the Rural Stewardship Scheme from 2001, encouraged the establishment of wildlife habitats.
Pitcox farm joined the CPS in 1997. Hedges have been coppiced and replanted and amenity woodland established. A wild flower meadow has been incorporated, and beetle banks established. Three ponds have been built and all water margins are protected from agrochemicals. The Game Conservancy Farm Ecology Unit has pioneered a scheme to reduce broad-leaved herbicide on the outer six metres of field; this allows weed flora to develop, which is crucial to hosting beneficial insects - key food for chicks of partridges, pheasants and other wildlife.
Stella Findlay
Peter Obrzud shares his experiences of wildlife seen in the Pitcox area since the early 1980s:
In 1999 the first pair of common buzzards were sighted nesting in a local wood and since then five confirmed pairs have been nesting in the area. Sparrow hawk and kestrel also nest in the parish. Merlin and the occasional peregrine falcon hunt in the surrounding area. Tawny owls and barn owls are relatively difficult to spot but on the last count the number of pairs stood about ten of each.
Foxes are always around. Badgers are not so common but they are, and have been, living in three woodlands not far from the village; the last count was about 14 badgers in the parish. The deer population has also stayed constant. There are many hares around here.
Brown trout and sea trout move up and down the swollen burns. Dippers, moorhens, mallard and kingfisher (not many) have all nested on the banks. Stenton has an abundance of wildlife in and around the burns. Only when these ecosystems become polluted from the sewage waste from cottages and farms is there a serious problem, which can take several years to recover or even no recovery at all.