Cricket Lovely Cricket - Jah Thomas FRIDAY

APOLOGIES FOR THE LATE PUBLICATION TODAY
INTERNET MALFUNCTION OR MORE LIKELY
'OPERATOR ERROR' 
An average of +14°C on the gauge overnight would have attracted

poor returns had it not been for a couple of

 SMALL WAINSCOT

 of varying hue

 along with this rather bulky female

DARK BUSH CRICKET

Another relic to be added to the nely formed museum

which now holds 2 exhibits which is reflected in the new

entrance fee, now £2.00 at the door!

If we record all c3 resident Woodpeckers on any given day

throughout the year

we consider ourselves to have done very well with

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

on the Heath,

GREEN WOODPECKER

in the garden and then

later in the day we returned to the Heath and found a

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER

Before that final visit we had scanned the

Solar Panel Compound

to find, if our memory serves us,

the first

WHINCHAT

of 2020.

The phenomena of gathering

HOUSE MARTINs

yesterday was just a single day late of similar activity

last year, but with the images and videos being effected by bad light

(and a shaky cameraman)

we have produced those taken on the 09/10/2019.

We raise our hats to the strange phenomena.
Soul-birds of a feather flock together.
We raise our hats to the hand a-moulding us.
Sure 'nuff, he has the answer
He has the answer

Strange Phenomena - Kate Bush

and finally our caravaning friends from Derbyshire have now decamped to

Cornwall for a couple of weeks where young

Samuel

appears to be tucking in to the Garfish, we have no prospects of seeing

one of those in our neck of the woods!

Spiderwebs - No Doubt

Another night of sub-double diget temperature saw nothing from the traps other than a 

CORRECTION!

Announcing the 'litter' of Hawthorn Shieldbugs on a previous post,

it turns out we got it wrong and not infact this

 HAWTHORN SHIELDBUG

but this

 BIRCH SHIELDBUG

We welcome the correction from Paul Harris with open arms!

Once again nothing to keep us at either pond so onward to the Heath
where en-route the

 Spider Webs 
were glistening with the dew

and looking rather like Brock the Badger had been having a mid-night feast.
Yet another 'pleasing' early morning

CLOUD FORMATION

However, looking back there was something far less pleasing although not going
to effect my day, but would have to make a telephone call as the

OLD ENGLISH WHITE STEER
had escaped captivity and already shoulder deep in Bracken
and Herdsman called.
We can report now safely back where it belongs!
Otherwise, and not surprisingly, more showy
FUNGI
 only ID'ed as to family group

TRICHOTOMA (Species)
and

ASCOBULUS (Species)
While we were in that area we did take a distant peek at the 

BEE HIVES

which appear to be thriving.
Birds were at an absolute premium

 and had it not been for this

 WHEATEAR

we could have been very close to a 'blank'!
A little relief came with the finding of another clump of more colourful
FUNGI,
which like the others were initially identified by
John Gifford,
but for this 
RUSSULA ATROPURPEA
we did find a vernacular name

PURPLE BRITTLEGILL
There was but a single bit of action within the
Solar Panel Compound
as on padlocking the gate we noticed this

COMMON BUZZARD

take this hapless

WOOD PIGEON

directly before us but at quite some distance,

feeling it was our attempt to get closer that saw it disappear into the trees,

with a few evidential feathers clinging to what might have been the
Plucking Post
had we been a little more stealthy.
Somewhat changed since early morning, the

Evening Skyscape

Golden Brown - The Stranglers

Yet another rather threatening looking

 Weather Front

arriving from the west met us at the gateway to the Heath at Lighting Up Time,

but according to the weather gauge there had been no signs of any overnight presipitation! 

Something of an eclectic day right across the board and following the

Good News with the rain there was even more to come from above. 

Stepping outside there was little doubt about the calls as c15 Wading Birds flew perposfully south,

right place right time as nowhere near annual and this (below) the only

 GOLDEN PLOVER

(for illustration and interest)

 known to have landed here. 

That occrance was on the 12/04/2016 while the

Solar Panel Engineers

were still constructing the site

 and me trying to weedle my way into gaining entry

on a daily basis - which was successful!

The luck continued as we plucked a rather welcome

 First for Year

CENTRE-BARRED SALLOW

from the first of the home traps.

With nothing top hold us at the Ponds we headed for the Heath where the sky

had become a totally different picture with only whispy

CIRUS CLOUD

Maring the Blue.

It would be churlish to say there was 'nothing' in the 

Heath Moth Traps

even though 

 CLIFDEN NONPAREIL

has already

 been secured this year!

Along with it came a couple of eye-catching and harmless bugs

 BLACK and ORANGE SEXTON BEETLE

 being one of the

Burying Beetle Line

 as is

BLACK or COMMON SEXTON BEETLE

and the much less gentile

 

 HORNET

 

the largest of the Wasp Family in Great Britain.

 In a change from 2 and / or 6 we eventually picked up on something with

 four legs

 this rather smart and seemingly young dog

 FOX

before encountering something with 'none at all' an

ORANGE BOLLETE

Not the best day for Butterflies, so under the circumstances considered we did OK with:-

 GATEKEEPER

 LARGE WHITE

 SPECKLED WOOD

and

 GRAYLING

(wings tightly folded as ever)

and later

 BLACK-HEADED CARDINAL BEETLE

 PEBBLE HOOK-TIP LARVAE

with

 BROWN ROLL RIM

and

STINKHORN

 Back to Barracks and finding Hugh (the owner) feverishly re-shaping the

Chicken Coup

for the impending new arrivals!

 There were once 12 which, over the years, has reduced to 6 and a far

more dignified way of 'crossing the bar' than had they been reduced to the Barrery!

This was considered a to good a moment to miss clapping eyes on

 BROWN RAT

 which are numerous but rarely seen

(even though it is said that any of us is never more than 100 yards away from one)

BINGO!

 Your Palace Awaits

HOPE TO BE BACK TOMORROW - CHEERS!