Tuesday 13 April 2021

Old King Coal (sic) - Nursery Rhyme

A little behind again but with the overnight temperature having rocketed from the +4°C of the previous night to a scorching +7°C hopes were high as was the usual anticipation of the generator having continued to function across the whole period. Rounding that final dogs-leg along the track

LAMPS

were all burning brightly but the thoughts of Moths immediately fades on seeing the view before me.

COAL TIT
collecting nesting material
was a sight never witnessed before
so time was taken to get our fill
as the Moths were going nowhere!
With counts having more than doubled across the board on the previous there was the return of a
YELLOW HORNED
our second
PURPLE THORN
and
NUT-TREE TUSSOCK
this tiny
SLUG
with the addition to the Year List
of
HERALD 
from the home traps.
'BLACK' PHEASANT
is something of a scarcity here but considered an absolute cracker
especially in bright sunlight which was not the case on the day
and despite their origins and pedigree, while
c4
ROE DEER
as a collective
plus another Pheasant isn't exactly the norm.
Again from the
Airport Ballancing Pond
came the unmistakeable 'squeels' of one or more
WATER RAIL
which are thought far more likely to 'breed' than to be 'seen', the
first snaps of
REED BUNTING
on Home Turf this year, only our second 'seen'
GREY HERON
and yes, that is an
EGG
although there have only been what we consider to be c2 males, with us now doubting ourselves on all things
MUTE SWAN
 our evidence having been sent to higher authority for closer scrutiny!