Sunday 10 April 2016

Love Is In the Air - John Paul Young

HEADLINE NEWS
and hot off the press! 
Not only did c9 
 SAND MARTIN
arrive back at the colony yesterday morning but also
 commenced excavating nest holes immediately.
Here's wishing them a successful and productive season!
Otherwise, the weather continues 'changeable' with patches of bright and sometimes warm sunshine, being overtaken by heavy downpours of rain/hail accompanied by a fresh and cool wind - but it's an Ill One that doesn't bring some fortune. This started with a rounds of the Moth Traps where this
 DOTTED CHESTNUT
 making for the second addition to the Recording Area Moth List
this year.
Additions to the 2016 List included this
 DOUBLE-STRIPED PUG
 along with
 PINE BEAUTY
and while
TWIN-SPOTTED QUAKER
has been noted and published already this year
another was thought worthy of a second outing.
Close to the Moth Trap stationed at Janet's Stable
GREEN ALKANET
is in bloom all over the place.
This
 GREY HERON
has stood sentinel on the bank of the
 Moors River for a full week now, while the erstwhile fairly dowdy
 GREEN SANDPIPER
 is now sporting
 most of its Summer Plumage.
 GREEN SANDPIPER
A clip of a pair of
EGYPTIAN GEESE
taken a week ago since when,
while talking of Sentinels, the male
 EGYPTIAN GOOSE,
has stood guard hardly moving from this spot
where he has been riveted for all of those 7 days since.
It is thought, and hoped, that she is incubating eggs in some tree hole close by,
so are we destined then to get our first images of Egyptian Goslings?
Take a long look below as these may well be the last
 FIELDFARE
and
REDWING
we see until the later months of this year?
We make no apology for showing the full sequence of what has been going on in the
Solar Panel Compound, but do so for the all too short Video Clips, as
the system will only allow for 100 MB (18 seconds) to be uploaded at a time.
The 'pair' of
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER
 have been witnessed feeding and cavorting, but what a privilege
to just sit there and watch their prelude to breeding.
Both birds embark on a session of picking the tiniest of pebbles and tossing them, not necessarily into the nest scrape, but in that direction. The presumed female then starts to fashion the scrape with her breast, while putting on a bit of a display and arranging the pebbles to form a nest.
DISPLAYING
Stone Tossing and Nesting
Stoning, Calling, Displaying
A chorus of LINNETs serenade
The Final Chase
When at the most crucial moment my thumb slips from the record button
failing to capture those brief seconds of copulation.
Talk about anti-climax, if you'll excuse the pun,
while losing the plot!!
Love Is In the Air Link 
A little intrigue to end with as among
 the top most branches of this
Mighty Oak Tree
 a Geocatcher Game Piece was spotted by occasionally met friends
Alan, Margret and their dog (name unknown).
The true identity of the piece was not recognised until
expanding the image and an Internet Search did the rest.
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