Out on the Wily Windy Moor - Kate

 Without any thoughts of great expectation, something of a priority was given to turning the

Reptile Covers

those off-cuts of corrugated iron which serve as warm shelters for Lizards and Snakes alike, but the brifest glimps of the only

DARTFORD WARBLER
of the day distracted us from that for the moment.

Looking north towards the
ASPENS

and then under the first cover our first success in the form of a

SLOEWORM
followed by the first and only

MEADOW PIPIT
of the year.

Distracted by activity from the direction of the Airport

it was a total fluke to catch the

Emergency Services at their Fire Drills
before uncovering a second Reptile a

SMOOTH SNAKE
while seemingly inquizative and head and shoulders above us all a

COLLARED DOVE
with the last of that family group being

WREN
and

COAL TIT
which was not quite the end of it and likely to fit into the same catagory as the
Fire Fighters

A FLUKE
the star of the day a very mobile

SHORT-TAILED FIELD VOLE
'clicked' on the spot!
HOPEFULLY MORE TO FOLLOW

If 6 Was 9 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

 The day started on a usual sort of note with the resident

GREY HERON
stood silent and still in hopes of a decent breakfast, with the 'usual' paleing as we reached the bridleway to find, is it

6 or 9?
With nothing more than a juv Little Grebe at the Irrigation Pond it was on to the Gravel Pit to find a most welcome addition to the Year List a rather smart looking

GREY WAGTAIL
and a forth

STONECHAT

at the Sewerage Works.
A short visit to the

Solar Panel Compound
found little or no birdlife but where the

Gentlemen in their Black Velvet Waistecoats have certainly settled in.
(Jacobite Toast and William of Orange refers)
Time for more desperate measures and a first of the year visit to the Heath turned out to be a decent call 

with the

WELCOMING COMMITTEE

already gathering and almost the first bird being this

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

being the second addition of the day to the Annual Tally.
Heading into the

Heart of the Moor
there was firstly a single

WOODLARK

followed by a second while leaving the rest of the story, with a few surprises, until tomorrow.

Chasing Our Tail

 With the Readership still firmly in the Doldrums we will, for the immediate future, carry on as normal but feel

The End could be Nigh

Like the 10% Waxing Cresent of a few days ago.
Another

heavy frost, no differnt from elsewhere in the County we presume, again kept us away from the Moth Traps but did find this tiny

BLACK SLUG
trying to gain access which surely must be following it sences of something within?

While the local
SONG THRUSH

was having to work hard for its breakfast!

No even the Strange Rover gets away with it and again from a few days ago!
In sharp contrast to previous days, when we hosted such goodies as 'hundreds' of Fieldfare and Chaffinch, the only thing of mild interest was this rapidly decending

AIRCRAFT
Up north, where it is always 1 or 2 degrees, cooler both ponds were devoid of Birdlife while in the slightly warmer surrounds of the Sewerage Works we found

the presumed c3

STONECHAT

which have been absent (or likely not spotted) since the turn of the year.
Also there was but a single

CHIFFCHAFF
where due to the extra warmth radiating from the works a ready supply of Insect life usually attracts a dozen or more. Nevertheless, both species were added to the Year List.

Next to be encountered was this rather ragged and 'grey' looking

FOX
crossing open ground while on our way to the
Solar Panel Compounds

where within were found a hat-trick of addition to the list starting with a small flock of

LINNETs

a couple of

RAVENs
which do tend to favour the compounds and maybe

as many as a dozen

MEADOW PIPITs
when returning home at the local pond a little padding was found by courtousy of
ballet-like preening

juvenile
and

adult male
MUTE SWANs

Back in the Groove

Apologies for the 'No Show' yesterday with no idea what caused the abcence. Some chance of it haveing been yet another Power Failure but my own theory would be Gross Incompetence!!

Now firmly ensconced back in the reality of 2022 like the 'readership' the numbers of Bird Species are dropping like flies!! With overnight temperatures now seemingly settled in 'highish single figures figures' the Moth Traps have not yet been stowed away but rather Moth (no pun intended) Balled in wait of another warmish blast from the south, but things didn't start in a Wildlife vein at all. Talk about "Hoist by Your own Petard" 

this image, Strange Rover 'n' all,

was found on the E-mail of me trying to surupticiously leave a gift at a friends house without being spotted. Otherwise, first to show was this

MINOTAUR BEETLE
scurrying through the grass before a wander along the banks of the

RIVER STOUR
looking west and to the tune of c2

GREYLAG GEESE

Effluent on the Stour

looking east

convieniently landing on the South Bank.
With nothing else there to delay us it was off up north just in time to watch a male

MERLIN
(we have never aspired to taking such an image of Europes smallest bird of prey and likely never will?) flying on a reciprocal course along the lenght of the bridleway, a most welcome addition!

With nothing to delay us at the Irrigation Pond it was next door on the Gravel Pit that we found a fine trio of presumed returning Waterfowl

TEAL
(male)

female

the long staying and occassionally hiding
COOT

a brief punctuation with the spotting of another Mammal for the year a couple of

RABBITs
both looking myxo free and followed by a pair of

GADWALL
female

male

then from above a

GREY HERON

dropped in.
A Spring-like day, a few Birds plus a Mammal sent us home content.
More we hope Tomorrow!