A Matter of Life and Death - Iron Maiden

Without a SHADOW of a doubt the best track on this fine album.

 Out of the Shadows - Iron Maiden (link)

Hold a halo round the world, golden is the day.
Princes of the Universe, your burden is the way.
So there is no better time, who will be born today.
A gypsy child at the day break, a King for a day

Out of the Shadow and into the sun,
dreams of the past as the old ways are done.
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain,
but we must endure it to live again
The sudden surge on the Stat Counter came to an

almost immediate end as figures once again plummeted from

the high 700's to the very low 100's, what you might call

A Flash in the Pan! Survival is in Your Hands!

Given the changeable and sometimes ferocious weather it's a 

wonder there is an Insect to be seen at all, let alone the tiny ones, 

but still they come in small numbers.

From the Moth Traps x2 Firsts for the Year came in varying sizes.

 LIME HAWK-MOTH

and

SMALL DUSTY WAVE

Continuing our rounds it was a case of

Tales of the Unexpected

as we firstly found this 

 GREY HERON

walking down the middle of the main road, but to be fair it did flush

to the grassy shoulder as we passed by.

 However, even less expected was a

WOODLARK

at the entrance to the Irrigation Pond

which is the first ever to be found 'perched/settled' on 

Parley Court Farm.

A couple of years ago c5 juvenile birds were found on the Heath

and did invade PCF airspace but this was certainly a notable find.

Also there, we found the 'sitting'

COOT

not in fact 'sitting' at all, in fact not to be seen at all or for that matter the other adult!

A dangerous game given the number of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls

that pass this way, but an opportunity to identify what was in the nest.

It was the (both) Birds that caused the camera shudder, certainly not me,

 so said Pinocchio!

but the female soon took to her rightful place.

At the Gravel Pit the news was both

Very Good and Extremely Bad

in equal proportions as at first glance the air space, just above water level, was alive with

SAND MARTIN

which have been here in their 10's in recent days thought to be

'fly-catching' for the unknown number of broods now occupying

the colony inside the Eco Recycling Works.

On the day it was considered to be more likely 100+,

consisting of both adult and juvenile birds, but unfortunately 

a 'palm-held' video camera cannot present the full extent of this.

Also on the up the

CANADA GOOSE

family were all accounted for and watched feeding veraciously on the far bank.

No, the Bad News was still to come as after a full hour of observing,

in the same way as the day before, it is probably safe to say that the offspring of this

LAPWING

and shown on the previous Post.

Now just a single adult this individual just paced the waterside

giving out a continuous series of plaintive calls.

Will they try again, the Coots did?

Turning to leave, on the adjacent Solar Panel we found

Strange Bedfellows indeed, a

COMMON BUZZARD at close quarters with a MAGPIE

and one of a good number of most colourful male

LINNET

Despite the continuing wind and rain, first to be noticed on the Heath were both

 BANDED DEMOISELLE

(male uppermost)

 

 plus male (above) and female

 BEAUTIFUL DEMOISELLE

 as ever

MEADOW PIPIT

this one seemingly still

In the Mood for Love?

Before turning the first of the Reptile Covers this

COMMON GREEN GRASSHOPPER

 was found taking what little sun there was, while beneath just

 c2

 SMOOTH SNAKE

A seemingly  lone 

 GREENFINCH

was doubtless preparing for a 'second brood'

 while good numbers of juvenile

 STONECHAT

are still there to be seen.

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