Swan Song - Led Zeppelin

 While we apologies for interuption to the Yorkshire Gig, the news of a

WHOOPER SWAN
at Longham Lakes, an unlikely setting we thought but who knows the minds of Birds? After the Moth Traps which produced 51 Macro Moths of a dozen speciesand additionally

maybe the last

WASP

another beautiful
MERVEILLE du JOUR

along with an as usual very active

GREAT DIVING BEETLE
The Swan then turned into the priority of the day, but without further ado

we should report that after a full figure-of-8 search around the lakes nothing was seen of the largest Swan that ever visits our shores.
Always something to see there, if only the 'Common People', between grilling anything and everything that was white we also found the

GREAT CRESTED GREBE

fraternity had seen a most successful breeding season with

self sufficient juvenile birds at all locations.

The adjoining
Hampreston Water Meadows

were considered to be a likely feeding site for the Swan but on the day they were
more Water than Meadow!
All else were the expected gatherings of more common waterfowl such as

WIGEON (female)

WIGEON (male)
punctuated by a fine example of site management with

Willows, Sedges, Reeds etc

SHOVELER (male)

SHOVELER (female)

cut back to ground level and truncks left to form refuges for Insects etc

GADWALL (female)

GADWALL (male)

while opening the vista of the South Lake from the South Bank.
Penultimately, a

perched

PIED WAGTAIL

and finally meeting a Father with his young Daughter and even younger Son getting an early introduction to our Wildlife that is 'FREE' for all to see.
Such moments certainly warm the 'cockles' (the very Best to you all) and may they yet be the saviour of
Plant Earth!