At 04:30 precisly yesterday morning there was a mixed rain and hail squal of Biblical proportions centered over Slight Return II. This knocked the power out, which seems to only have effected my caravan with the rest of the farmstead uneffected. With no clue concerning such things as Electrickery it took most of the day to resolve the problem hence the lack of Post. We hope this will be the last of it as we embark on the catching up process and thank you for your patience and continued support! We hope to have the second instalment of the Longham visit tacked together for tomorrow's Post!
4 ZERO's here this morning, Zero Wind, Zero Rain, Zero Cloud Cover and Zero Moth Traps but at least the electric is back on. Additonally there was someting of a bonus connected to our absence, the 'hits' regester went sky high due we would imagine to our persistant and valued readers checking time and time again. There's a moral to that "no Post more Hits - Winter Draws On!
Despite the inclement conditions across both days of the weekend we find it impossible not to put in at least a token effort using the not always trusty Strange Rover as a bird hide. This has also lead to a bit of cheating as, with just a single excepting, not a shot attached was fired from the Canon.
Seemingly the Gulls had also had enough of the weather as well as they predominated, streaming inland at a constant trickle with most numerous being
without so much of a yelp from a Mediterranean Gull or for that matter an extreme rarity here
there have been but c3 records over our 14 years in attendance.
Also from the sanctuary of the door step and flitting through the trees a number of
along with singles of
and a
flying west along the course of the River Stour.
A relatively short weather window mid-morning allowed a look through the Moth Traps to be surprised that the were any Insects at all, but........
c2 MERVIELLE du JOUR bringing the annual total to 46
and another c2
Birds on the Heath included
Apart from the still c4 Mute Swans the ponds have shown poor returns in recent days so the lone
was of no surprise
while next a presumed recently arrive bunch of
maybe the harbingers of the winter flock we usually enjoy along the
Sewerage Works Fence-line, along with a
An afternoon lull coincided with my return to
'My Man'
come to scrub the Ship's Side and what a job he did - a certain contender to be my next Boatswain!
Next on the list, while I sat there helpfully watching, was a bold
not at all a regular garden visitor
followed in quick succession by a
an unexpected
and
before wallowing in an hour's worth of
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in Kashmir with Egyptian Orchestra.
