Roundabouts and Swings - Nik Kershaw

Round-about yesterday it was wet, with leaden skies, and a stiff breeze from the South West but with some highlights once we got into the Swing of things!

What John Lennon would undoubtedly refer to as ‘Grotty’ often diverts my attentions to that fine, fine classic by John Masefield

'CARGOS'

 'Quinquireme' of Nineveh from distant Ophir,

Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine.

With a cargo of ivory, and apes and peacocks,

sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.

 Given the conditions and also on the 'swings' side a constant overnight temperature of +10° the Moth Traps nearer to home were abandonded for the time being to attend those on the Heathe while the weather held. Had we not made that decision it would have been highly improbable that we would have encontered the

BLACK REDSTART
only a matter of yards futher north than the most active area across the whole property,

The Fencing Centre

and where it was viewed for no more than 60 seconds.
Good job then that these same size birds as our own Robin also tolerate built up areas and a degree of human activity with these images having been lifted from the archive for illustration.
At the traps and a casual glance, it looked like a decent catch which produced from 79 Insects of 13 species an

ENGRAILED
(first for the year)

along with an interesting comparison between what looks like melonistic (dark) and the usual pale
OAK BEAUTY

This fine specimen of a male

CHAFFINCH

feeding was worthy of more than a casual glance while the tail-fin bound

HERRING GULL

looked every bit
Master of All it Surveyed
along with other Heath punctuations such as a small Islet of

GORSE
surrounded by a sea of purple hue Erica

along with a rather eye catching Fungi bound Pine stump.

Most unusually the

Rare Breed Goats

were engrosed in the function they were put there for in the first place, to munch away the understory growth rather than being consigned to a

Tasty Tagine!
while back at Base Camp we ended the day with more Gulls

HERRINGs

being attacked by much smaller

BLACK-HEADED GULLs

taking a break

between rounds.
and finally, a phenomena we have not noted before the

usually hyperactive

GUINEAFOWL
snoozing.

Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,

Butting through the Channel in the ‘mad March’ days,

With a cargo of Tyne coal,

Road-rails, pig-lead,

Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.

Unless You are Hopeing to get through the Panama Canal?