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An individual, of no great importance, who is unable to see the natural world as a place for competition. I catch fish, watch birds, derive immense pleasure from simply looking at butterflies, moths, bumble-bees, etc - without the need for rules! I am Dylan and this is my blog - if my opinions offend? Don't bother logging on again - simple!

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Friday 4 October 2013

Great Grey day at Newland's

I went fishing yesterday evening and caught a rather modest chub using a method that I'd completely overlooked; touch legering. I came home and started to write a blog entry but became lost in a sea of nostalgia and technical stuff. The post was saved to the "draft" file; I'd revisit it when I finish work, well that was the plan. An early shift on Friday is always a good one - we finish at 13.00hrs!
A rather modest, although immaculate, chub caught touch legering.
The reel is a Matt Hayes "Limited Edition" 4 1/2" diameter Centre-pin 
It had been a grey, overcast sort of morning and there was a significant passage of hirundines passing over the Pyson's Rd Industrial Estate so I decided to walk back home via the muddy fields, instead of the footpath. A few Meadow Pipits and a couple of Song Thrushes were my reward, plus muddy shoes, until I turned left just beyond The Old Rose Garden and made my way towards Vine Close. A bird flushed from the lea ward side of a small oak and flew low across the newly sown field. "That looked like a shrike?" thinks I subconsciously. No binos or camera, I thought little more of it until a Great Grey Shrike flew back past me - bloody hell! A patch tick!


 
 

I've found several Great Grey Shrikes over the years, yet none of them mean as much as this one. I rushed home to grab my camera and binoculars; if there was any chance, I wanted a record of this bird. I rang Gadget, who was fishing the R. Stour, before making my way back to the hedgerow, at the end of Vine Close, where I'd last seen the bird. Bingo - it was still there and with a bit of creeping about, I managed to grab a few images to ensure the record was beyond doubt. A new patch tick; something only "patch watchers" can appreciate. Seeing a UK Great Grey Shrike is always enjoyable - finding one on your patch just elevates the sighting to another level.

The best I could manage - my Newland's Farm Great Grey Shrike - with Buff-tailed Bumblebee!

3 comments:

  1. Steve,
    It was one of those moments; a bit like your Hawfinches? A bird that I'd thought should be possible at this site, it's just taken 13 years to confirm my faith.
    My desire to capture an image is purely to remove this sighting from those of other Thanet sites - where miracles are witnessed, but cameras fail to record the events.
    Enough of the politics - love, peace and lentil soup man! - Dyl

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