Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles Part II

 To answer the question as to how things were going with myself and

Ille, from Estonia,

we were already discussing the prospects of visiting each others homes, mine in Weymouth Dorset at the time and her's in Tallin and elsewhere, but still some milage to get out of Sharm el Shaikh.

With not a single bone of religeon in my body I was very much looking forward to Day 2 as not only for the prospect of some serious Birds but also a visit to one of the Worlds most famous eclesiastical buildings and sites!

At the foot of Mount Sinai stands the edifis that is
SAINT CATHERINE'S MONESTARY

and withing those walls the biblical BURNING BUSH and we had taken the extinguisher just in case. However, far more importantly to all of that, which we could view later, was to find some local and fresh Camel Dung on the steep and winding track leading up the mountain side! It was at altitude that we found the first deposit and soon located the first of a number of the endemic

SINAI ROSEFINCH

(female)

(male)

and a full 90 minutes before moving from that spot or seeing another bird!

The wait was well worth it as the next to show was a
LAMMERGEIER

Bearded Vulture or even known as the Bone Crusher
after its trait of flying to altitude with a bone, releasing it to smash on the rocks below before eating the jolly lot!
On the far easied decent we located our first ever

DESERT LARK

while back at Monastry level the intent was to get amongst the architecture
but got distracted by firstly the fantastic

NILE VALLEY SUNBIRDs

the extrordinary

TRISTRAM'S GRACKLE

or
TRISTRAM'S STARLING
nesting in the cracks in the stonework and finally a lone

PALASTINE SUNBIRD
before muzing on the cost of this 'charabang' at just £5.00, lunch included, but the day wasn't over!
Again joining the

Tallin Tourist's

it was once again
Game On!

Let the good times roll, let them knock you around.
Let the good times roll, let them make you a clown.

Let them leave you up in the air,
let them brush your rock and roll hair.
Let the good times roll,
Let the good times roll, won'tcha
Let the good times roll

Let the Good Times Roll - The Cars

Though knowing little about it, architecture is one of the joys of my life, if only pleasing to the eye, having visited many of the Stately Homes and Cathedrals across our Green and Pleasant land. My singular favourite, with mind still wide open, is surely from the secular division

HATFIELD HOUSE
where you get 2 for the price of one with the Jacobean in the foreground and the more distant Tudor, but for the secular it is doubtful there will ever be anything to top

WELLS CATHEDRAL
with its unique

SCISSOR ARCHES

One Swallow Does Not a Winter Make

 While the familiar songsters of the Dawn Chorus have more of less wrapper their hands in the local

GREY HERON
has taken it upon itself to make up the deficit

by 'screeching' loud and clear from around midnight until dawn.

Additionally, and with the cooler nights bringing fewer Insects to the Moth Trap we are trying a new stratagy across the remaining days of trapping. With the Heath traps all but abandoned, save for the hint of an Indian Summer, we have sited one of the traps high on the bund, close to home, in hopes of that

Last Scarce Migrant.
Talking of which, we have captured a few 'Strangers' other that Moths over the last few years but

little to compare with last nights latest contender! Question is
"how the hell did this tiny (petrified looking)

LIZARD
get into the trap anyway?
and while we "don't do Micro's" it was difficult to overlook the c7

BOX-TREE MOTHS

with c2 being 'Melanic Varients'.

With yet another 'rain bearing front' apporoaching from the south west
it was time to get the skates on but not before paying a little attention to a

Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon 1972

juvenile and

parent
WOOD PIGEON

From the Solarpanel Compound could be seen the

last vestiges of the
MOON
but nothing else so made our way back to base finding yet another gathering of

STARLINGs

on the overhead cable along with what will likely be our final

SWALLOW
of the year??

Hearts of Oak - David Garrick

 There are a number of annoyances for us 'ere Moth Catchers, among them low (single figure) overnight temperatures, detering the Insects from taking to the wing, various adverse weather coonditions (rain, snow, hail you name it), various phases of a bright Moon across a cloudless sky, vying as an attractant with the Murcury Vapour Lamps just to name a few. However, we have been suffering from the clutches of another over a full week now, but would not want to deterer them,

COMMON PIPISTRELLE

along with what we also consider to be

COMMON NOCTULE BATs
that is, to which our traps are in human terms each a veritable **** Michelin Restaurant. This however did not deter us from catching a late comer to the British List.

OAK RUSTIC
which feeds on

HOLM OAK sometimes refered to as EVERGREEN OAK
which is the food plant while in larval form, with this one right outside our door.

First reported in Great Britain from the Island of Jersey it has thrived and now considered widespread throughout the southern reaches of the country.
Additionally, we also caught another,

 but none less welcome,

CLIFDEN NONPAREIL
and a none to shoddy

BURNISHED BRASS
It only dawned on us on this the first day of the new month that we did not see, or hear, a single

DUNNOCK

over the last month but better news were the pair of

GADWALL

(female)

(male)
on the Gravel Pit
and ended both month and day witha

Splash of Colour

PEACOCK BUTTERFLY