Friday 30 October 2020

The Show Must Go On - Queen

Empty spaces, what are we living for?
Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on
Does anybody know what we are looking for?
Another hero, another mindless crime
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime
Hold the line
Does anybody want to take it anymore?

Absolutely no point swinging out of the hammock early yesterday as, uncannily, for the 3rd day running, Thursday’s heavy rain started at 04:30 precisely! However, far more welcome was the +10°C hanging on doggedly in similar fashion.

With field work hampered for the best part of the day we did see and hear a few things but the Canon lay redundant throughout forcing us to rely totally on the archive for the images. Even at first knockings and despite the pitter patter of rather large raindrops we could already hear one of the resident

TAWNY OWLs
giving it large from the other side of the
River Stour.

With our self imposed journalistic licence we feature images of one of last year’s juveniles which were reared in the

DOVECOT outside of the MANOR HOUSE,
which has as valid a claim as any but, prey tell, how did the parent birds get
in there to incubate?

  We did get to the Moth Traps eventually but, despite the temperature, Best in Show only amounted to repeats of
MALLOW

and the fairly similar

FEATHERED THORN
Outside of that bracket was also the rather attractive looking
ICHNEUMON SARCITORIUS
Arrival at the Irrigation Pond was met with some bad and some good where the Posh
FLY-TIPPERS
had left their mark, looking like good kit to me, and the start of some original images!

Along with the now settled c4 Mute Swans was a likely 'newly arrived' juvenile


LITTLE GREBE

Don't Blink
Which could only be proved if the other c2 were still in attendance next door!
Along with single's of
CORMORANT
and
GREY WAGTAIL
they were
along with an adult
but one being camera shy!
On the way to the Heath there was evidence that the first of the
"little Gentlemen in the Black Velvet Waiscoat"
had arrived
MOLE
that is and which some still salute today. Thought by many to have been the demise of despised
King William III of Orange
(King Billy Hey)
In 1702 his horse Sorrel tripped on a molehill, threw his rider who broke his shoulder adding to his already frail health and died soon after to the delight of many!
Doubtless, the rich earth within the Slolar Panel Compound will be riddled with such before year's end!
First up there was a very neat row of Rare Breed Cattle with
2 x Belted Galloways (left) Old English White steer (centre) along with 2 x Shetlands, while also in neat rows just a few of the laid up
AIRBUSES
as their pals are now lined up ready to
Take to the Skies
with services already commenced and a
COLLARED DOVE

 That may well have been the last of it had not Tuesday's inclement weather not postponed Victualing and Bunkering and bringing with it the biggest 'Long Shot' of them all. With the airport fence directly ahead of our driving back, out of a now clearing sky flew, directly down the runway towards us a

GREAT WHITE EGRET
performing a carbon copy flight pattern of a similar or same Heron a few weeks ago as reported here. Three and occasionally 4 have been reported from the nearby Longhan Lakes for a few months now, so maybe this is the Prodigal returning with no intent to brand it biblically wasteful.