Friday 12 December 2014

Pheasant Plucker's Song - Traditional

Notice:- Readers can take heart that the 
Reverend William Archibald Spooner
has been BANNED from this Post!
Me husband is a keeper, he's a very busy man, 
I try to understand him and I help him all I can, 
But sometimes of an evening I feel a trifle dim, 
All alone and plucking pheasants when I'd rather pluck with him. 
I'm not the pheasant plucker, 
I'm the pheasant plucker's mate 
And I'm only plucking pheasants 
Cos the pheasant plucker's late.  
There has been a varied selection of weather over the past 3 days as the Full Moon started to wane. Bright and sometimes warm Sunshine, Mist, Rain, a small burst of Hail, relatively High Wind and even a Frost - certainly keeps life interesting! All of that time has been spent at PCF with each day including a cursory search for the Siberian Chiffchaff from Saturday. It was located on Sunday when, believe it or not, it was seen 'displaying' (quite a sight), but since then there has been neither sight nor sound. However, the first set of images on this Post hail from a little further back than that and although agreed some are slightly unseasonable, all were taken in the last 10 days.
 FEATHERED THORN
along with an unidentified
 (Tortix) Micro Moth
may represent the last of the Moths for this year, but we are still
running a single trap whenever it is considered there is half a chance.
 DRONEFLY
 FLESHFLY
 HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD
(from the interior of Slight II)
The Spider 
PISAURA MIRABLIS
along with the following have visited the trap, or as stated otherwise,
 On the doorstep at Slight Return II awaiting MY return a large
 BUFF-TAILED BUMBLEBEE
JAY
of the slightly bolder variety,
visited Harbins Garden along with
 just what we have been hoping for,
RED SOLITARY BEE
sometimes known as
Red Mason Bees
Not surprisingly 'on its own' it was immediately taken to the latest
 BEE HOTEL
newly stationed amid the Ivy Bank where a
 RED ADMIRAL
 was still showing some interest in the Ivy Blossoms and Fence Palings.
A stranger to Parley Pond over the last few months, but as the
weather grows colder, guess we'll be seeing a little more of this
CORMORANT
With most of the deciduous trees now bare of their leaves we start
to see some of the hidden secrets of the Spring.
GOLDFINCH NEST
Otherwise, at the Irrigation Pond there have been plenty of 'small'
birds, but except for Mute Swans totally devoid of any form of
Wildfowl.
From there, the best we can offer is the 'first'
PHEASANT
to visit that sacred soil since the refurbishment.
HE was there with his Harem of c2 female both of which were
sticking very much to the dense cover.
Barrow Poets Link 
Still a bit of Fungi to be found including
 RAZOR STROP
on Silver Birch
RUSSULA AQUOSA
 XYLARIA HYPOXLON
and still a few blooms of
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