A Shoulder to Cry On

A lot less violent weather wise but a great deal cooler, at just +4°C, but nonetheless still they come, but not before looking through the window to find a murky

GREEN WOODPECKER

feeding voraciously and

captured through the glass.
Nothing to add to the Year List but just the fact that we are still catching starts the day in the right direction with

first on parade

GREEN BRINDLED CRESCENT
the ubiquitous

BEADED CHESTNUT
another

BLAIR'S SHOULDER-KNOT
this tiny but rather nifty

SNAIL
and equally this beautifully marked

FLY
It was almost as if not needing to move from the homestead as soon after the traps had been cleared that these 2

GREY SQUIRRELs

appeared

and started performing

right before our eyes,

and as if that were not enough

a seemingly loan and most vocal

SISKIN
cut across the leaden sky and about to continue our recce of the previous day a

MERLIN
of unfortunately the none feathered kind

cut across the same dreary skyscape.
Unfortunately, from more northerly climbs all that could be added to the
Welcome Home List
was the long staying

female

TUFTED DUCK

BUT ALWAYS BELIEVE THERE WILL BE MORE TOMORROW!

The Boy's Are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy

 So, back to Base Camp and very nearly said "back to normal" but that ain't ever going to happen, along with gale force wind and lashings of rain. However, that didn't seem to effect the Insects much as all 3 of the Moth Traps produced, even if not all Moths!

NOVEMBER MOTH
would have been a first for the year had we the skill or inclination to disecet it and study the genitalia, a messy business, but as confusable with close relatives we simply note it as aggregate (agg).

DEWICK'S PLUSIA

was considered a 'fair cop' taking my memory back to the 70's and the capture of Great Britain's 14th such species which have become far more numerous over the years, or maybe more trappers?

along with a most obliging and active
DIVING BEETLE

A recce around the Patch on our return showed that little had changed during our absence save for the abcence of c3 of the juvenile

MUTE SWANs

with an adult

LITTLE GREBE and juv MOORHENs
on the Irrigation Pond and more showy examples of the

juvenile

LITTLE GREBE
and equally lone juvenile

MOORHEN
at the Gravel Pit and could not believe our eyes when spotting this

rather tardy

WHEATEAR

at some distance but considered a decent find as just back in the saddle!

All else amounted to a vocal
ROBIN

along with a second generation of

GOLDEN WAXCAP

You Never See 'Em All - Part V

 All Good Things must come to an end as is the case with Bad Things, which always seem much longer in going, but to wake up to more Good News, who's complaining?

BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
and for simplicities sake a vagrant from the America's. Not at all ideal viewing conditions also limited by distance, so thank heavens for Dave's telescope, and have taken the opportunity of fielding a borrowed shots to emphisise the matter.

A little more photo and video worthy here were the

GREAT WHITE EGRETs

both

showy
and

mostly active but with little else around we decided to search some of the channels flowing into the

RIVER HUMBER
(Oil Rig Supply Vessel)
Our first encounter was with a couple of

ANGLERS
who had coincidentally just 'hauled in' a

GUDGEON
not a prize winner but something 'wild' that we would not have seen otherwise.

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT
also showed themselves as did a first for the trip

COMMON GULL

A preening GREYLAG GOOSE looked to being attended by a number of WIGEON while

BARN OWL

were represented by no fewer than

3 distinctly different individuals.
Already many Wading Birds were being heard, attracted by the ebbing tide, but they would have to wait their turn as

CORN BUNTING

were kept seperated by both his

DAVESHIP and the SLUICE

from their close cousins

REED BUNTING

 While talking of cousins the Barn Owls were not going to be over-shadowed as a

total of no less than c7

SHORT-EARD OWLs

were logged.

The greatest spectacle was still gathering as uncountable numbers of

WADING BIRDs 

mostly Knot and Godwits continued to drop in

along with half a dozen LITTLE EGRET shown above.

Leaving the Sun to set behind the River we returned just at the very moment the anglers
landed a small

PERCH
to our delight, but it was not yet over as driving towards the main road this

WHITE PEASANT

crossed our track allowing for both

Clicks and Clips,
What a Trip to a Splendid, Splendid County!!

It would seem that some had kindly reacted to our plea by disceminating the fact that we are back in business with a most welcome spike of HITs this morning, there is a drink awaiting you at the Red Lion Bristol with THANKS ONCE AGAIN!