Feathering Thier Own Nests

A National Record Breaker for the number of frosty nights across April looked as if they were very much about to subside, but not so Sunday night. The forecasters (who rarely get it wrong these days) had forecasted between +4°C and +7°C, for our neck of the woods, but came nowhere near with a +1°C at home and a disappointing Zero° from the Heath.

(It was amazing to see just how quickly the Trees have turned 'green' along the southern bank of the River Stour 

Nevertheless, that didn’t lead to total disaster with 14 Macro Moths of 8 species species attracted across all traps including a sample

LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT

  a quartet of

SCARCE PROMINETs

(some would give their high teeth for just a single)

RED CHESTNUT
and

this unidentified SPIDER looking radient in the morning sunshine.
Had we caught this there would have been a few missed heartbeats, but to come clean it is a

SPANISH MOON MOTH
nurtured from a larvae by one of our friends. Leaving the traps and hoping for better to come we stopped the Mobile Bird Hide to watch this 

ROBIN
obviously dropping into a nest site to

Feed Young
and by consequence noticed another nest at the edge of the Gorse

without having to leave the sanctuary of the
Strange Rover and that of the

LINNET

there are severe penalties for knowingly disturbing the nests of breeding birds, a practice that we never follow - 2 'clicks' and we were out of there. The only item of passing interest from within the main Solar Panel Compound was to find a couple of the

EWES

are still weaning their Lambs but birdlife was restricted to a few Pied Wagtail's and please don't say "oh no, not again" as these are the most favoured and scarce of all our resident birdlife and you never know where you might come across them, today a single

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE

atop the Solar Panels themselves - a first!
Inspired by the spotting of the first nest and approaching the southern paddocks we wandered down to the end of one where a pair of

WRENs
had nested in a box where tack is stowed but with no signs last year.

Different Year, Different Result

as at it again and by just lifting the corner of the canvas dodger the

Eggs were Expossed.
As for the weather, they say there are westerly storms and rain on the way but..........

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west

and my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
and the voices of those who stand looking!

And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune

then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
and the forests will echo with laughter.

Do you remember laughter?

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin