Thursday 4 August 2016

Going to My Hometown - Rory Gallagher (Part V)

Monday into Tuesday saw just about none stop rain and fairly high winds, for that 24 hours period, which all but put paid to any sensible field work, so we capitalized by confining ourselves to Slight Return II. This also gave us chance to try and get 2 of our 3 laptops fixed as over recent weeks we have been juggling between one or the others just to get our Posts away. In the first instance this little ditti highlights our daily track to the Moth Traps, then one or 2 other images followed by some of the more interesting buildings etc around the rest of the Farm.
HARBINS FARMHOUSE
(with Hugh cleaning his car)
Moth Trap No1 on the east side of the house.
Where each morning for the past week a very mobile juvenile
ROBIN
lays in wait.
Across the lawn and onward towards  the
 GARDEN POND 
to Trap No2 and then past the
STADDLE STONE SUNDIAL
onward to
JANET'S STABLES
and Trap No3 where yesterday we found a couple of
DOR BEETLES
The best part of this short walk is along the bank of the
RIVER STOUR
where
BULRUSH
are taking over but also
 KINGFISHER
are now being seen daily, often tending their young, while
more often heard than seen, but also thought to have bred,
CETTI'S WARBLER
Trap No 4 sits close to the 5th Golf Tee but on our wander to the
 5th and final trap under the Oak Trees
it was noticed that already
the foliage is turning brown.
The only 2 Moths of interest on the day were
MAPLE PUG
new for the year

and 

WORMWOOD PUG
Under the Cable Drum on which the Trap stands we also found the nest of
COMMON BLACK GARDEN ANTS
just bulging with eggs.
With Notes and Identification completed as far as is possible we then head for
PARLEY POND (south)
to the usual welcome

and where the
MUTE SWANS
still hold on to the surviving 7 of the original brood of 9 while
 around the other side the
 COOTS
are still holding on to 2 youngsters.
Problems here for young birds are that if the Gulls or Raptors
don't get them from above then the Pike and Giant Red-eared Terrapin
usually do from below.
Now, on this final part of the initiation we can show you around a few more
of the buildings scattered around the farm.
 Late Georgian
PARLEY COURT MANOR HOUSE
DOVECOT
where last year this
TAWNY OWL
brought off
2 YOUNGSTERS
 All of the Old Barns have now been thoroughly modernised
 with most now serving as
 Offices or Business Premises.
 Another, of several more
STADDLE STONES
formally used as supports for buildings holding grain and whos
purpose were to keep Rats and other vermin from the precious corn within.
PICTURESQUE COTTAGES.
Entry

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