The Boy's Are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy

 So, back to Base Camp and very nearly said "back to normal" but that ain't ever going to happen, along with gale force wind and lashings of rain. However, that didn't seem to effect the Insects much as all 3 of the Moth Traps produced, even if not all Moths!

NOVEMBER MOTH
would have been a first for the year had we the skill or inclination to disecet it and study the genitalia, a messy business, but as confusable with close relatives we simply note it as aggregate (agg).

DEWICK'S PLUSIA

was considered a 'fair cop' taking my memory back to the 70's and the capture of Great Britain's 14th such species which have become far more numerous over the years, or maybe more trappers?

along with a most obliging and active
DIVING BEETLE

A recce around the Patch on our return showed that little had changed during our absence save for the abcence of c3 of the juvenile

MUTE SWANs

with an adult

LITTLE GREBE and juv MOORHENs
on the Irrigation Pond and more showy examples of the

juvenile

LITTLE GREBE
and equally lone juvenile

MOORHEN
at the Gravel Pit and could not believe our eyes when spotting this

rather tardy

WHEATEAR

at some distance but considered a decent find as just back in the saddle!

All else amounted to a vocal
ROBIN

along with a second generation of

GOLDEN WAXCAP

You Never See 'Em All - Part V

 All Good Things must come to an end as is the case with Bad Things, which always seem much longer in going, but to wake up to more Good News, who's complaining?

BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
and for simplicities sake a vagrant from the America's. Not at all ideal viewing conditions also limited by distance, so thank heavens for Dave's telescope, and have taken the opportunity of fielding a borrowed shots to emphisise the matter.

A little more photo and video worthy here were the

GREAT WHITE EGRETs

both

showy
and

mostly active but with little else around we decided to search some of the channels flowing into the

RIVER HUMBER
(Oil Rig Supply Vessel)
Our first encounter was with a couple of

ANGLERS
who had coincidentally just 'hauled in' a

GUDGEON
not a prize winner but something 'wild' that we would not have seen otherwise.

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT
also showed themselves as did a first for the trip

COMMON GULL

A preening GREYLAG GOOSE looked to being attended by a number of WIGEON while

BARN OWL

were represented by no fewer than

3 distinctly different individuals.
Already many Wading Birds were being heard, attracted by the ebbing tide, but they would have to wait their turn as

CORN BUNTING

were kept seperated by both his

DAVESHIP and the SLUICE

from their close cousins

REED BUNTING

 While talking of cousins the Barn Owls were not going to be over-shadowed as a

total of no less than c7

SHORT-EARD OWLs

were logged.

The greatest spectacle was still gathering as uncountable numbers of

WADING BIRDs 

mostly Knot and Godwits continued to drop in

along with half a dozen LITTLE EGRET shown above.

Leaving the Sun to set behind the River we returned just at the very moment the anglers
landed a small

PERCH
to our delight, but it was not yet over as driving towards the main road this

WHITE PEASANT

crossed our track allowing for both

Clicks and Clips,
What a Trip to a Splendid, Splendid County!!

It would seem that some had kindly reacted to our plea by disceminating the fact that we are back in business with a most welcome spike of HITs this morning, there is a drink awaiting you at the Red Lion Bristol with THANKS ONCE AGAIN!

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!