Ol' Man River - Paul Robeson

 With the

Waning Moon 

now coming close to its end with hopes that the darker heavens combined with the still unseasonably high temperatures might just coax a few more Moths into the Traps - seems they did......

c6
DECEMBER MOTHs

plus singles each of
MOTTLED UMBER

and

WINTER MOTH

with a couple of

DOR BEETLEs (right)

with at least one showing attendant 'parasites',

and the 'horned' individual left being a

MINOTAUR BEETLE

(Thanks John)
All else in the Solar Panel Compound was more evidence of overnight

BADGER

feeding (grubbing) activity

and an unusual quartet of female

PHEASANTs

either preening or feeding.

Back, closer to home, one of the local

KESTRELs

in 'hunting mode' at altitude

but nowhere near as high as this passing
BRITISH AIRWAYs
rumoured to be coming to an airport near us next year????

Finally, a wander down to bank-side where Wildlife was found to be completely absent

but pleasing to see the
RIVER STOUR
almost in full flood.

The Gathering of the Clans

Had it not been as the headline suggests along with a Tail of the Unexpected there may not have been a Post at all today - but we keep up the momentum for our DWINDLING audience! At the Manor Car Park crab apple trees the Hungry, that Must be Fed, had increased by a further 2 species joining what is considered to be the original

FIELDFARE

under yet another beautiful sky-scape, while the single male

BLACKBIRD
took to the trees

as the females,

about half-a-dozen in all,

contented themselves with the fallen fruits

while the second of the new arrivals a
MISTLE THRUSH
(a scarce species at this location)

also took to the higher perch.

The Stranger in all of this was a single

BROWN HARE

once an almost daily sighting here but this the first for maybe a couple of years or more?

Short but Sweet

 It was plainly obvious at first light

that the day was not going to be one for Wildlife but with the

predicted +12°C and the stiff breeze still hanging on from a south-westerly direction, we were at the very least going to get out there to make sure. At the first of the Moth traps, as was the same at the second and last, the whole container was swarming with

FLIES

with many pro-creating maybe due to the balmy conditions while within the first c4

DECEMBER MOTHs
while in the second no more than a

single of the same species but unfortunately
not a Migrant to be seen!

The further good news was that the hike in temperature
(IRRIGATION POND)

had also melted the venere of thin ice
(GRAVEL PIT)

with some Gulls - Black-headed and Herring

along with a few water-fowl such as a pair of MALLARD along with a MUTE SWAN.
Long before noon it was once again Rain Stop Play so back Onboard for a welcome mug of
Douwe Egberts Pure Indullgence.

Time - Pink Floyd

 

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day, you fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown, waiting for someone or something to show you the way!

 Didn't even step outside of our humble home yesteday with continuous heavy rain backed by gusting Sou-Westerly wind and the promised +12 ° which unfortunately, because of the afore mentioned conditions, kept us away from the Moth Traps. However, the 'adicted' was not swayed from a little 'watching' from the windows gleaning the short list as shown below. The first to show were a couple of the unexpected firstly in the shape of a female

PHEASANT

followed in quick time across the lawn at same course, same speed a female

MALLARD
both considered scarce so close to home but far more familiar dozens of

ROOKS
eventuallt braving it to feed inside the Chicken Coupe where a brace of

HERRING GULLs
were doing their best to keep everything else at bay and just a single

BLUE TIT
among a small gathering of

BLACK-HEADED GULLs
whizzing around overhead trying to avoid the attentions of the Herrings with the now tiny flock of

STRARLINGs
content to feed on the lawn. Not to be outdone in the Corvid steaks a lone

MAGPIE

The usual contingent of
HOUSE SPARROWS
and finally a couple each of

JACKDAW
and

CARRION CROW

Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain. You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today. And then one day you find ten years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun!!

THANK HEAVENs for the WORLD CUP FINAL!