All in a Mouses Night - Genesis

 With the weather still nowhere near SUMMER it has turned a little for the better which has been reflected at the Moth Traps. Decent additions to the Year List

have included

RED-NECKED FOOTMAN

BLUE-BORDERED CARPET

CLAY

BUFF ARCHES

and as the name suggests the

DELICATE
Elsewhere, and at this man-made spinney known as

The Island
we once again found, under the only cover therein, the only

COMMON LIZARDs

among the

THISTLES

which is the only site here known to

support such a creature.

A vocal but all to distant

WREN

added to the visit as did the first juvenile

COMMON BUZZARD

we have noted this year but under the same circumstances.

On the Heath we found this lot still breeding like

RABBITs

and in part predictably

SMOOTH SNAKE

along with masses of

ANTS

with thier

EGGS
but on this occassion not one

WOOD MOUSE

but

c2

WOOD MICE

under successive covers which is a record for here and with the

MULLEIN
now well above ground level it should only be a matter of days before we see the
Yellow Spikes of Flower - feel we are getting a little behind with this?

Honeysuckle Rose - Fats Waller

 Now that's going back a bit!

But in the far less distant past, guess we have all had some of this so looking foreward to the Post when we can title it

Here Comes Summer - Jerry Keller
Sporadnic at the Moth Traps only having secured

LIGHT ARCHES

PHOENIX

GREY ARCHES

and

BROWN HAWKER
from within and along with

BLACK-TAILED SKIMMER
from with-out but close by.
Otherwise, a more than decent start to the rest of the day as we discovered an occupied

HOUSE MARTIN's

under the eves of one of the local residences

and looking like the paret birds just adding the

Final Touches
and while in that particular area we might as well give an update on the

MUTE SWAN FAMILY
which is still c7 cygnets strong and Shipshape and Bristol Fashion,
along with a variety of

MALLOW
and a childless mother

MOORHEN

eating her fill while puting quiet a differand slant on the song
Motherless Child - Eric Clapton
On to the Solar Panel Compound where we wont stop 'clicking' juvenile

MISTLE THRUSHES
until we've had enough and likewise the

Growing Band

of equally young

LINNETs
before finding our theme for the day growing side by side

DOG ROSE (left) and HONEYSUCKLE (right).

The Emerald - Thin Lizzy

  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

It looked rather ominous early doors but only a token light shower tried to mar the activity at the Moth Traps

Straight in with the Big Kids as we plucked our first of the year

LARGE EMERALD
from the collar of the trap and shown here with one of the smaller species of that division
Small Grass Emerald

for size comparison which we have yet to capture in 2021.

Additionally and of the same f.f.y. distinction.

RIVULET

BUFF ARCHES

in all its glory

SMALL FAN-FOOT
along with

DOUBLE LOBED
and once again the irrisistable

SCARCE MERVEILLE du JOUR
which has become just about daily over the last 2 or 3 weeks!
The weather got no brighter, but no mind, as we did wander into something of a
Purple Patch
starting with just a 30 second 'fly-by' of a female

HEN HARRIER
flying to the east across the open moor until disappearing over the trees.

We have never been lucky enough or stealthy enough to capture such a magnificent raptor on celuloid, hence the borrowed image, but this all to short flash was a carbon copy of a similar event back in December 2016.

It was the chattering calls of

CROSSBILLs

'plaural' from afar which had us catch sight of this

male while only minutes later another familiar rumble from above, the mid-morning

AIRBUS
Delight only tells part of the emotion on finding a

'second'

LITTLE GREBE

on the Gravel Pit so still time yet for a bunch of Humbugs as their young are described

while this juvenile
MOORHEN
has been here for a few days now.
As if the cherry were not already firmly on the cake as we sat in the 

Mobile Wildlife Hide a.k.a. the Strange Rover, yet another familiar trill from above caught our ear

as landing not 10 yards away was what we have to describe as the first 'returning'

GREEN SANDPIPER

and as predicted in a previous post the first flowering

MULLEIN
That might have been the end of it, but it just seemed to be one of those everlasting days as we made aquaintance of yey another brace of ladies from

EDDIE STOBART's

HAREM
but it was to be the

ROYAL AIR FORCE GLOBEMASTER

which had the final say on a none to tardy day!

Down from the glen came the marching men,
with their shields and their swords.

To fight the fight they believed to be right,
to overthrow the overlords.
To the town where there was plenty,
they brought plunder, swords and flame.

When they left the town was empty,
children would never play again!

The Emerald - Thin Lizzy

This morning started very much as yesterday ended and looks like we wont be strayin to far today?

"Oh to be in England now that Summer's here"

A slightly abridged version of Robert Brownings sentiments, he refered to April!