Aftermath - The Rolling Stones

As we have now dipped our toe into Spring we look back on a none to shabby Winter with 81 species of Birds and 6 species of Moth already 'in the bag'! Time was, years ago, when we would accomplish more than this number of our feathered friends on New Year's Day alone, but gone are those heady times of Twitching, but not from the memory!

While referring to the first full night of Spring there was also a little activity via the Moth Traps 

with a first for the year and season

COMMON QUAKER

and
ICHNEUMON WASP
(we'll have some of that)

Not the best of starts, a little light rain, but only a flash in the pan which turned into
  a day of splendid

CLOUD FORMATION

Rows and flows of angel hair, and icecream castles in the air

and feather canyons everywhere, I looked at clouds that way!

  of great interest having once been part of my job as a weather gatherer for the Met Office, but also a day to reflect on the passage of our 3 ex-Pals as we dumfounded  Dudley,

almost escaped Eunice

and attempted to outflank Franklin, our inheritance as above!
Not a lot of change in the wider world and still no Moths (a little ambitious we think) but the

LITTLE GREBEs

are certainly 'at it'

dashing from one end of both ponds to the other in 'display'

and extremely vocal.

A diverssion from above as this Royal Navy

BOEING CHINOOK
clattered loudly overhead.

The return of one of the female

SHOVELER 

with company
absent for a few days now, was a welcome sight and one of the male

TEAL cosying up with a LITTLE GREBE 

and Blink and you would have missed it as the 'first for the year'

KINGFISHER
perched for no more than 20 seconds with our day ending in the

Solar Panel Compound
with our second of the year

LAPWING
resisting the lush surroundings and potential breeding ground below.
It'll Be Back!!

But now they only block the sun, they rain and they snow on everyone. 

So many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way.

Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell