And now, at last, getting finally up to date with the end of my hollydays...
I took my last weekday to fill in a bit of the Moor that's usually busy. Having it to myself was at best 50/50 even on a day of forecast showers and so on, but it was worth a try. I vastly prefer being there alone; it's all about atmosphere.
Where?
Here;
Sitting midst the heather
Grimspound
Wheatear!
The hut circles are petite
But beautifully put together
The main entrance
I eventually tore myself away and yomped up that big hill you saw earlier, then ambled about on top of Hamel Down, before swinging by King Tor and Hookney Tor. It was a bit damp underfoot, and some threatening clouds were about, but the only showers missed! :)
View from higher up
The King's Barrow
Mipits were moving in small but frequent groups - all heading east and northeast - but the scene was dominated by a posse of Ravens. Eight of them were vocally about the whole time I was there, and I naturally tried to get them...
Wait! Not Ravens, Mipits!!
I plonked down out of the wind at Hookney, and another Wheatear dropped by for me;
"I'm not going to pose for you"
Swallows were also moving in more of a trickle than a flood - no photos, you may be assured. Instead, here's a couple of other things I encountered;
Small shrooms
Spiky shroom
Fox Moth caterpillar
Plenty of those hairy things about, still.
Ok, that'll do.
Annnnd Finally.. A decent yomp, slightly curtailed, and carried out in again a total lack of rain.
I went up to Meldon, and got around the famous Wilhay loop. The wind was cold, the sun was hot, and so the temperature fluctuated wildly between sheltered sun = tshirt and windy shade = coat! It was still good and splashy underfoot, but that didn't stop plenty of people getting out. My route [you may be unsurprised to learn] minimises crowd interaction, bar the inevitables up on the Roof of The South, so I was able to take three stops with full uninterrupted hours watching... Mipits, mostly!
Yes, I am mad. Hour counting passing Mipits. I was curious, after all the Mipits passing over Hamel Down my last time out, and seeing more as I went up, I thought to myself.. 'Hmmmm' So, timed counts - also a nice excuse to sit out of the wind, enjoy the view, and who knows what else might turn up? - at three points. Were they radiating off the Moor? Moving into the wind? Heading more towards wintering areas [such as the Teign and Exe valleys]? Just generally flying in random directions?
Naturally, you are interested in what I found. Black Tor; 22 [heading up over the ridge], Fordslands Ledge; 16 [Mostly passing towards the east rather than west side of the ridge], Black Down; 4 [all north off the Moor]
From this very limited data set [::Cough::], I suspect that the primary movement was off-Moor but with a distinct easterly trend that implies option three. Or 'the obvious answer'..
It wasn't just Mipits, there were Mistle Thrushes around Black-a-Tor Wood, see?
It is, really.
You know what else is coming.. Mipits.. Lots of Mipits...
Spot The Mipit
"I ca'a'a'a'a'a'an't see it..."
Nice rock
Nice legs
Streaks
Last one
And those are all different individuals, too.
Ok, time for a few scenery shots, now;
Yup, been raining
Sunshine on Black Tor
South from Fordsland's Ledge
The Wilhay
Now with added 'art'...
Up on Yes Tor
Row from West Mill
West Mill and Yes from Black Down
And a little colour, a few other bits;
Great Big Hoverflies like coffee
Neat little inclusion at West Mill Tor
Red-a-Ven
Love those strata
Also of interest, was this cutie;
A dark brown raptor with a pale head and pale fringing on coverts?
Interesting. But which raptor would it be? Let us look more closely;
You are correct! Itsa Buzzard.
A regular-flavour job showed up soon after I took this, and up and away it goes;
'Scuse the awful lighting, there..
Nice to see a half-decent mimic Buzzard [see how it had carefully hidden its tail when on the wall? Nice touch, that]
One last picture;
The Res, on the way out
That's it.
Be Seeing You..
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