On Golden Pond?

Just when you thought the weather couldn't get any more dreary the Fog sets in yesterday, not being able to see one end of the Gravel Pit from the other, but on the up side it did clear before mid-morning. There was only a 15 minute spell of sunshine throughout the previous day but that quarter of an hour brought its share of delight. When you get tired of 'cloud formations' you might as well wrap your hand in!

 Across the Solar Panels

 Across the Heath

 Sky Mountains

The Traps haven't been returning any Moths either but look 

a little closer and you might just detect the odd and tiny

GARDEN SNAIL

and a couple of very good looking

ROVE BEETLES

As water levels get lower and the clatter from Plant gets louder
we would have expected a mass exodus from

PARLEY POND

but not a bit of it.
To start with there has been the return of this years breeding pair of

MUTE SWAN
which haven't been seen for a month or more, 

but even then there were only c2 juveniles with them which has now

happily doubled to c4 of the original c7.
It has also uncovered a much younger juvenile

 MOORHEN
 (left)
than the others still around the pond,
but the GREATEST surprise of all came in the shape of a female

 PINTAIL

 While our attention was distracted by Family Members also perusing
the goings on at pond side we have some reason for forgetting to video it, but

 there is no excuse for not being able to identify this fairly common Duck.
Even with the benefit of what are decent images still we were flummoxed and
sent them off to 'higher authority' for verification. We can only put this down to an abrasion
of the brain which you can easily get away with when you are a septuagenarian!

This is indeed a 'rare' bird here as there has only been a single record
of c5 overflying since recording began, to get one settled is a huge bonus!

The has been something of a downside to these operation
as some Fish have fallen to the pumping such as the odd

PERCH
 suspected of existing here but thus far not having been verifies, and

COMMON EEL

Otherwise, and to get all the 'works' out of the way the

 BRIDLEWAY on the COMMON

has been resurfaced with loose chippings, while we also seem to have
our first 'settled' flock of about 100

REDWING

which we will be stalking in the hopes of better images in days to come.

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