An Esox with observations

 Thanks to the efforts of The Angling Trust, fishing remains a legitimate pastime during this second lockdown period. There are recommendations pertaining to what is deemed reasonable distance to travel and, obviously, social distancing restrictions but, by and large, my fishing can continue much as before. I'd signed up for a weekend's overtime but, on Thursday, it was cancelled - shame! Bev had no issue with me getting two sessions in over the weekend, so off I went. 

Flatlands dawn

Saturday morning saw me  out on the flatlands, catching a small jack within fifteen minutes of casting my bait, and that was it! I spent the remainder of the session scanning the surrounding countryside through my bins and managed to add Great White Egret to the year list for my troubles. Good numbers of "continental" Blackbirds were present at first light yet had moved on before Neil Davies arrived at my spot and we spent at least fifteen minutes catching up on what's been a very good autumn around the SBBOT recording area. It was at very short notice that Benno and I arranged to meet up down on the RMC just before 05.45 hrs this morning. It was a very testing drive, through the patchy fog, at that silly o'clock time of day. However, we both arrived safely and headed off into the darkness, ever hopeful. My alarms only sounded whilst I was setting up, Benno managed a couple of pike, one of which wouldn't have been a decent perch! The weather was superb, as was the company, so a very enjoyable session all round. The conversations with passing dog walkers, ramblers and others was brilliant, such is the shared frustration with this latest lockdown situation. Common sense seems to be prevailing and social distancing was observed without any requirement for the police to get involved. It was just after sunrise when a Noctule Bat came flying down the canal, absolutely stunning in the daylight; they're huge! As the sun rose the day became, ever more, less pike conditions. Benno ended up in a "T" -shirt before we packed up at 10.15 hrs. In the interim, a pair of "red head" Goosander were present along the canal and allowed me a fantastic photo opportunity.

Other birds recorded just helped to highlight why I rely on audible alarm technology, therefore allowing me the opportunity to spend the time observing the wildlife which shares the environment I'm privileged to spend time in.