Lady of the Lake - Rainbow

Lady of the Lake - Rainbow

Certainly not one of my favourites, but it fits!

Since our return and among our daily sorties, have been a couple of visits to Longham Lakes no more than a 10 minutes drive from Slight Return II. It is rewarding to be able to report that the combined visits produced a decent amount of success along with a few interesting encounters, but not before your 'daily dose' of Firsts for the Year Moths and other Insects!

 NUT-TREE TUSSOCK

FROSTED GREEN

 PALE PROMINENT

RED-GREEN CARPET

 CRANE FLY

(or Daddy Long-Legs)

HONEY BEE

No sooner through the kissing gate, there was

an immediate addition to the Year List in the form of

not just one, but c3

COMMON SANDPIPER

 initially perched on the pipework at the main

 Pumping Station

before completely disappearing, who knows where?

It is always worth the time to 'stop and stare' at the sedate pastime that is the

 Remotely Controlled

MODEL YACHTS

somehow most therapeutic.

Since our departure the 

 GREAT CRESTED GREBE

have taken on their 'summer garb'

and we consider our self very lucky (whatever happened to 'skill'?)

to catch just a snatch of this one with prey.

Musing to myself that

"I'll be with you in Apple Blossom Time"

 (don't panic, not really but if there is a Christmas Dinner going later in the year??)

while watch a pair of

COMMON BUZZARD

building a nest without allowing a shot of themselves, there was a familiar 

but all too long absent 'gentle grating song' coming from a nearby bush

 which could only have been a 

COMMON WHITETHROAT

 another expected, and most welcome, addition to the

(nice to have a gale blowing!)

Year List

and since added to our own 

Recording area List.

The next manifestation arrived silently and on the wing

Out of the Blue (ELO)

another member of the

Radio Controlled Brigade

again worth breaking from my pursuits to take it all in.

This was the moment a

GREY HERON

was spotted, stalking the reed beds which on another day may not have been worthy of inclusion.

However, taking to the wing and alighting in a nearby

OAK TREE

it was only this that brought to my attention a

 GREAT WHITE EGRET

 only a matter of feet away in the same tree.

This bird along with its c2 Oppo's, what should be described as

RARE VISITOR'S to DORSET,

 have served the Bird Watching Fraternity

very well right across all of the Winter Months

and like myself have seen many, many faces returning time and again

to Longham to take full advantage of these magnificent Herons!

Finally, among the Gulls were this

 juvenile

HERRING GULL

a bevy of

MEDITERRANEAN GULLs

with a

COMMON GULL

and later a few perched

COMMON GULL

In fact Rainbow were considered, by myself, to be a last drastic attempt

to squeeze the remaining 'living daylights' out of

Deep Purple.

It didn't work, though there are those who would vehemently disagree,

save for the classic

 Since You've Been Gone

 feat. the irrepressible vocals of Graham Bonnet along with the

great privilege to resurrect Cozy Powell (drums).

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Silver Machine - Hawkwind

Continuing the Catch-Up.

 but not before a little Weather Drama

on Monday afternoon!

The first 'Hawk', in the Moth Department, of the year was a

POPLAR HAWK-MOTH

(caught 23/04/2017)

most numerous of the migrants

 SILVER Y

 POWDERED QUAKER

 and sister to Lesser Swallow Prominent secured a few days ago

this is simply

SWALLOW PROMINENT

With the

COOT

still sitting on eggs, it now looks rather like the pair

might be about to get new neighbours.

The pair of Little Grebe, not to be confussed with those already

sat on eggs at the other pond, are making gestures indicating their intent

to nest here as well??

 FLOWERING CURRENT

 is now in bloom as is

MARSH MARIGOLD

while

 BLACKCAP

 are vocal

in just about every bush!

Unusually, a pair of

GADWALL

are still knocking about

unusual as they are all but absent once March is out!

 RABBIT

are also being seen on a daily basis now as

 WHITETHROAT

numbers iincrease by the day.

Notwithstanding all that had gone before, the day's highlight was surely

 the finding of this
(middle trunk just below bow stump)

 GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

nest still under construction and being exclusively excavated by the male bird.

However, the 

female did pop in to note progress

from time to time

 and also undertook a session of preening, maybe in readiness

for what was to come??

After all that inspecting plus washing and brushing up the

 Old Lad Himself

 was allowed out to streach a

 Well Worked Bill

 before getting back to the job in hand!

"Pheeewww, this 'ere sawdust don't 'arf get stuck in yer froat"!

HOOF FUNGUS
(Fomes fomentanus)
was also of coincidental note as a species that had been brought to my
attention by Dave Foot on our trip to Scotland.

However, this was countered by the biggest 'laugh' of the day

as we drove across to the Heath to find that the 4 Cows that

should be there had somehow strayed onto

Parley Court Farm.

Already asride my trusty steed, The Strange Rover, we got in gear to attempt getting
them back to where they belonged, which wasn't as easy as it looked. Eventually, a
phone call was made to summon help and soon after arrival the bovines were safely retuned to the sanctuary.

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