Thorn in My Side - Eurythmics

 The usual pre-dawn search of the fence pallings came up with the goods with c2 First's for the Year Moths, with as usual the 'tightly closed wings', of an

EARLY THORN
along with a

SHOULDER STRIPE
and

DOUBLE-STRIPED PUG
found within.

Our interest in noting that the
COOTs

were still attending the nest was very short lived as out of the corner of the eye, something that should have been a surprise, but wasn't, as seeming to be present in every corner of the county a

GARGANEY

which represents something of a 'RARITY' here as only the 3rd in close to 10 years, but then

"like all rare things, it was gone"!

Also close by a

COMMA BUTTERFLY
with an image from the archive showing from whence the name derives.
Next door there was no more than a single male

MALLARD
but along the Solar Panel Compound fence-line the Butterfly theme continued with this

BRIMSTONE
while within

there were more examples

of the divercity of the
LAMBs
which we will now put to bed for fear of over-egging the custard!
On exit we were drawn to the sentinal-like

SILVER BIRCH

with an equally attractive patchwork of Fungi, while along the path to the bridleway a

SMALL TORTOISESHELL
while a return stop at the
Irrigation Pond

the bonus of an unseen but loudly squeeling

WATER RAIL
bringing our wander to an end.

Home, Home on the Range - Gene Autry

There seems to be no middle-ground at this time of year as we fall into a period of Feast or Famine with today's Post being the first episonde of a 2-parter starting with a most welcome f.f.y.

TWIN-SPOTTED QUAKER

from within the Solar Panel Compound while further on we found ourself countered by another slight alteration to a motor vehicle such as our own contribution of

we now have an alternative

by way of

just LOVE it! while all else was confined to the
Irrigation Pond
with the return of a female

SHOVELER
along with a far moe scarce

MALE
(in company with Little Grebe)

which,

given his status, we will milk

For All It's Worth.

Male Gaping

Female Transiting

Male with

Little Grebe Singing

Male and Female
and

and You Know What and with thoughts of Both breeding, Miracles do happen!

The Continental - Con Conrad Part II

 Continuing from last Sunday in geographical order we head to

SOUTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND

SALVIN'S (SHY) ALBATROS

GREY WARBLER

KAKA

WANDERING ALBATROS

EUROPE

CRESTED LARK
This was the very first 'foreigner' recorded as taking up Bird Watching on Massiarah Island, Oman,

but numbers subsiquently across Europe.

BLUE ROCK THRUSH
Romania

HARLEQUIN DUCK
Iceland

SPOTLESS STARLING
Spain

 NORTH AMERICA

BALD EAGLE
(the nations motif)

BLACK SKIMMER

AMERICAN BITTERN

YELLOW-FOOTED GULL
Baja California

MACGILLVRAY'S WARBLER

The Warden at Yocemite NP did not recognise this, what chance us then?

and finally

ANTARCTICA

CHINSTRAP PENGUIN

DOLPHIN GULL

KING PENGUIN

SNOWY SHEATHBILL

We've Only Just Begun - The Carpenters (Part II)

 Looking along the endless rows of still maturing hedge-rows, planted single-handedly by our friend Chris Sugden on behalf of the Solar Panel Companies, we can find a fine example of just how variable  Mother Nature can be. Looking at the mix of plants (Gelder Rose, Field Maple, Privet etc) during the winter I for one would not be able to identify one from the other except for the evergreen later but, for example come Spring the

BLACKTHORN (Sloe)

bursts into flower before it shows a single leaf, while the progession of

 HAWTHORN
is quite the opposite which might also be said about the recently arrived

SHEEP

which we find totally facinating, MORE did we hear you cry????
From the Irrigation Pond save for the Magpies

NEST BUILDING
there was nothing to report, but on the other hand the activity at the

Gravel Pit,

despite the worrying increase of invasive
Pond Weed,

as the
COOTs
also swing into construction mode

in the

Predicted Spot.
Outside of the Eco Recycling Works Gate

MAGPY's
are far more advanced but close to noon and that mug of
Douwe Egbers Pure Indulgence
came the familiar calls of not only the 'first'

SWALLOW

but also our first
True Migrant Bird.
The images, from the archive, are for illustration only as the brid in question was firstly identified on 'call' and then seen to circumnavigate the Farm House and Tennis Courd twice before departing in a northerly direction - "we,ve only just begun".