A Grand Day Out

With blue skies and light winds - ok, albeit a bit nippy - at last on Sunday for the first time since the beginning of October [I was shocked, I must admit] I went for a day out with t'Folks. We [as then] wandered about Fernworthy; it being one of the very few places where you can still wander without sinking into a morass....

At least along the forestry tracks, anyway.


We wandered around the western and southern bits before stopping off at the hide to have a look on the water. It was very nice going, with gorgeous low light coming through the trees. We did meet a couple of parties of schoolkids as we arrived - 10Tors or DofE I assume - a whole heap of dog walkers as we left and a couple of surveyors [working on a Sunday, oh the scandal...! ;) ] in the middle, but otherwise it was quiet. Some sheep have gotten [or been let] into the compound, but fortunately we didn't meet them, only plenty of signs of their passing. The only mammals we did see weren't in the compound at all - we stepped out onto the Moor to have a look at the footing and the scenery and were surprised to see two Red Deer hinds, well out in the open, by a fence! They were quite surprised to see us, too, but as we were a way off and didn't make any moves, they just stood and looked at us, ears wide. I love the way deer's ears do that. Tilly didn't see them - stood still and not being sheep-coloured, also not upwind - so we watched them for a while as they relaxed a bit and started nibbling, before we headed back.


It was pretty quiet on the bird front, as well; a few bands of tits and Goldcrests, a couple of woodpeckers, that sort of thing - no Crossbills, Redpoll, or Siskin.. Tilbury did make sure we got a couple of good birds, though, as she found not one but two Woodcock! Both were right beside the track, but each time she'd clearly noticed something; it wasn't a randomly ditch-leaping dog bumping into them. I reckon she's learnt their scent, having flushed several in Yarner by accident. She is a smart little dog, especially when there's something to bark at...

On the reservoir were a Little Grebe, 13 Teal, and 2 Coot. Also 2 Grey Herons and assorted bathing gulls. The latter were turning over so no sure counts but included at least 3 Common Gulls and an adult LBB. It's very unusual to not see any GC Grebes or Cormorants on Fernworthy - even when it was really low there was usually a Cormorant knocking about. Odd.


Finally, we had a chance to have a look at some archaeology we'd never got around to going to as well; the 'other circle'. This is a cairn circle with a nice double stone row attached to it, near Assycombe. Similar thing to Hingston Hill, though nowhere near as long! It's a very interesting site - if you like that sort of thing - with an unusual style of double row, a very close hut circle, and what appears to be a stone platform by the cairn. It's not in my guide; not being a 'proper' circle and there being better-looking, more accessible examples elsewhere, I assume. It's a nice spot, if rather treed-in, and I will be back.




And finally; drama on't Patch yesterday, with some highly competent a tug crew having an unfortunate coming-together with the ship they were towing to scrap. Fortunately, our brave emergency services saw to it that nobody was hurt and no environmental disaster ensued. Said derelict [ex- german navy FPV, apparently] is now on the bottom, but we are assured that all the valuables pollutants had been removed beforehand. If it deters the scallopers from destroying the last scraps of the corals around the Nose, I say jolly good show.