Morning Stroll

Yesterday i awoke suddenly at 7am, this was due to the fact that my throat feels like it's on fire and my nose has ceased to work, thus rendering sleep as a distant memory. So, with my man-flu in full flow i don't feel 100% but the opportunity of a morning walk over Belverdere roused my spirits.

As it happened the day seemed a pleasant one and for periods it was warm and bright, however large black clouds drifted over threateningly every so often dropping showers of rain before moving on.

 

Entering the fields at Point 1 a Jay flirted through the trees to the left of the Bridge, a glimpse of pink and blue caught my eye as it settled in a tree on the very edge of the stream. The scrub on the way to Point 2 was alive with song, a scratchy little tune that i have not heard for many months. Soon the culprit flitted out from the dense thicket into the base of a  small thorny tree where it perched in the bright (but fleeting) sunlight. A Whitethroat. As it turned out Whitethroats were in abundance throughout Belvedere fields, everwhere i went on my walk that morning that scratchy song followed, every movement in the scrub turned out to be another Whitethroat, it was a very pleasent walk.

 

On the journey to Point 3 a Kestrel skimmed low over the field heading towards the Water Treatment Plant, a few Canada Geese watched it fly by as they rested on the small island in the centre of the pond. As i approached the Water Treatment Plant myself (albeit a few minutes behind the Kestrel), the notable difference since my last visit was the number of Swallows seemed to have doubled. A look through my binoculars confirmed why, they had been joined by both House and Sand Martins.

 

Martins are smaller than Swallows and their tails are not as deeply grooved in the middle. House Martins are black but have a white patch on their rump, easily identifiable when it turns, whereas Sand Martins are uniformly a chestnut brown. After a few minutes of observation at this large number of Hirundines, all swooping and swerving, the rain returned, this time heavier and i decided that it was time to should turn back and head home.

 

 

Looming clouds

 

 

 

  Manure loving Fungi