Pride Goeth Before A Fall

And doesn't it just?


Yes dear readers, I am back.

My technical issues were a pain in the neck to say the least and have required some reasonably drastic action. However, I am hopeful that I can now resume tormenting your eyes and melting your brains posting.


The title and contents of this here post were what was left stranded in blogger's workybitz when it decided it didn't like me any more. Ironic to say the least...


So, here it is, a very delayed post indeed.

Cast, if you will, your minds back, back, baaaaack in time to the 17th of January**;



 Pride Goeth Before A Fall

Well, sort of.


So, another Sunday and the day started very well with a Treeeecreeeeper outside the kitchen window! I like Treeeecreeeepers.


The weather was being naughty, neither really here nor there [and of course, not what was forecast..], but I said terhellwi'it! and went up on't Moor.


With things seemingly threatening to get brighter, and the wind less fierce than expected, I decided to have a look around Vitifer, in case of shrike. After a fair bit of wandering about, I got to the clearfell in Sousson's [previous year's hotspot] to find assorted birders with the same idea. They included The Boss, who had seen said shrike a couple of hours earlier. ["It was right up there" he told me].

Hmm.


Having been upvalley, I tried down valley and around to the Farm. No joy.

Hmm.

I figured it had probably gone to the little valley below the WHI [sight of my first ever GGS, btw]. Now, I could either yomp over, or, it getting on, I could stay put, have some lunch [a plan] and see if it came to me.

I went for option lunch. Within 10 minutes of sitting myself down in a nice inconspicuous [and sheltered] spot - where I very handily flushed a moderately unlucky* Woodcock! - my bet paid off as the GG Shrike came skimming low between the piles of shorn-off branches!

And then disappeared down slope.


Bugger.


Go after it or wait for it to work up to me? Down slope was less sheltered from the now somewhat increased wind, and there were now no noisy civilians to disturb it. As I was feeling very pleased with myself for predicting the shrike's return, I waited.

The cloud base then decided to drop in. Visibility tanked and it was Game Over Boys.


Drat.



Here's a better-behaved shrike in better-behaved weather from a year ago;

Great Grey Shrike, Sousson's

Then, the Crossbills showed up. Very mobile, about 25 of them, so enough for the proper sleigh bells effect, they did not stop in sight. But they were nice to have pass by.


Once lunch was done and as it was clear the mistyfog was here to stay, I mooched around both trees and Moor to see what I could find. Of note were a very unlucky Woodcock. Well, a bit of it, anyway...

Wing of Woodcock;

hand with feathers, arm somewhat barer..

Also a couple of Red Grouse, a couple of lost walkers, and some wonderfully atmospheric scenery;

Nothing like surprise drops in the fog...

 

 

Gertilicious

 

 

I do rather like the Moor when it's all mistyfog and you can't see. This wasn't quite the full-on 40' bowl - more like an 80' veil - but it still served the HotB effect pretty well. :)


Ah well, another weekend bites the dust. If work did not beckon tomorrow, I'd even be seawatching... ::Sigh::



[[*Look down...]]