A Prickly Encounter

 It was while traipsing across the Heath at dusk, after yet another hard day at the office, that a movement caught the eye. We have been keeping a look out for returning Nightjar’s but no, this was far more rotund and nipping along at a decent pace. Closer inspection showed it to be what was thought to be a young

HEDGEHOG

but in the fast fading light we were only able to click half a decent Snap while the Video function didn't seem to want to opperate at all. To make matters worse it then rolled itself into

a tight ball at our approach. This being the first ever encounter of a 'live' animal across the Recording Area we did not want the moment to be missed so consigned it to the ever-ready stout box, always kept in the boot, and gave it food and shelter on our return to base. We will end the Post with the sequel

Again little to show for the Burning of the Midnight Lamps just 13 Macro Moths of 8 Species and all staples with the best being a brace of

POPLAR HAWK-MOTH
this tiny

EARTHWORM

an unidentified
LARVAE

along with one of the presumed
Long Horned Moths
body size little more than a grain of rice - we don't do Micros!

Although we are now well past the mid-point of the season there are still

no signs of 'green', not even a bud, on the
ASPENS

which doesn't seem to be bothering this

GREY SQUIRRELL
munching away

before indulging in a bit of

sprucing up

between nibbles

followed up by a brief interlude with our first

PAINTED LADY
BUTTERFLY

maybe gaining susternance from the

GREEN ALKANET
While still in attendance on the Moors River there is still no indication of the

EGYPTIAN GEESE

or

GREYLAG GEESE

coming to terms with procreation and as promised we end with the full bifta of the

HEDGEHOG

showing reluctance to get going in the first instance

but eventually starting to uncoil and

surveying the
Lie of the Land.

Getting into gear it seemed to start

Looking for Food

and even though 'well protected' in itself

we were not about to leave it until it found cover!
WHAT a MOMENT!

Lady and the Lake - Nimue

 Mother Nature is a Wonderful Woman indeed allowing us to meander along looking at what is usual and expected then, every so often, tossing a spanner into the works - ask any Twitcher! With the weather pattern continuing to be wet and noisy we were not expecting a lot from the Moth Traps and that is just what we got, in fact just c2 Insects with one being this beauty

the archetype
BIRCH MOCHA

while this is a Mind Blowing Variant we have never clapped eyes on before!
THANK YOU MUM.

Away from that we first of all checked on the 

MUTE SWANs
which has been a daily visitation since the first egg was laid on 12/04/2021, but only revealing what is beneath sporadically,

with this morning being something of an exception as both a bout of

Ships Husbandry was also underway while again

expossing all c8 eggs.

Concerning at both sites, there was nothing to report from the Irrigation Pond while the Little Grebes on the Gravel Pit were either absent or hiding/nesting while the pair of

TUFTED DUCKs

continue steaming back and forth from one end of the pond to another without a trace of breeding!
More Bad News as we reached the most northery of the Solar Panel Compounds to find another text to the Shepherdess was required to report the 4th Ewe of the season as an

ESCAPEE

The path is clear though no eyes can see, the course laid down long before.

And so with gods and men the Sheep remain inside the pen,

though many times they’ve seen the way to leave

Firth of Fifth - Genesis

not an iota of improvement across the Heath with just this single male

CHAFFINCH

venturing within lens lenght but then only for 6 seconds -
Executive Decision Time
let's try

and while talking of MORGUE'S
No People, the Lowest number of Birds ever seen at this site (not a singlr Bird on the surface of the Lake) and quite rightly a Military Style One Way System Walkway.

The 'Highlight' should we wish to give it a name came at the well places
NESTING PLATFORMs 

this one exclusively occupied by Black-headed Gulls

while the other 2 were being shared with

COMMON TERNS

the first we have seen this year while at the end of the track

an extremely

vocal male

BLACKCAP

Babbling Brook with other

SONGSTERs

Old Lady of the Forest
along with another First for the Year

SHORT-EARED OWL
if only!
A short visit so ample time to pop along and visit a family friend, a lady of senior years, always vibrant and loves her garden.

At the start of the drive a mighty
HORSE CESTNUT

full of 'Candles' with some of them "in the wind" before finding the

The Lady of the House
trying to avoid making the tea.

Something of a Strange Sight this year

(Dad's got the Groceries)

as we don't appear to have a single Bird, let alone a Breeding Pair on home turf?

GOLDFISH

then back to Base just in time as
Funnel Cloud
was trying to form, followed byyet another

DOWNPOUR.

The Cuckoo - English Folk-Song

 Yesterday's wake up call was provided by a most welcome return visitor back from the over-winter African sabatical, our very own

CUCKOO
on the banks of the River Stour

making for a total of c3 across the board.
Also, despite the seeming ly continuous heavy rain, we are also doing alright from the

Moth Traps
with the rearanged set up proving far more user friendly with among a decent bunch f.f.y. included

LIME-SPECK PUG

SETACEOUS HEBREW CHARACTER
(Setaceous means 'bristly' according to the New Oxford Dictionary)

and

HEART & DART
Apart from the leader a dowdy looking bunch but all, being new for the year, bring with then that little fillip which come with seeing them again.

Outside of that and bringing with it a little colour this

7-SPOT LADYBIRD

was a welcome catch as were a brace of

canoodling

BROWN-LIPPED SNAILs

A second for the year at the Gravel Pit was a most welcome, as scare here,

COMMON SANDPIPER
and maybe on the downside both

LITTLE GREBEs

were again in attendance but there was no signs of the nest. Not a disaster just yet
as they are built to float so could be at another location, so the search will continue!
There were also 10mm, whatever that means, of rain up to mid-p.m. which also may have something to to with the absence.
All elseshowed the

MOORHEN CHICKs

to be thriving while also

Increasing in Numbers.