RMC fun

 It was around 05.15 hrs when I headed off towards the RMC for my first Pike session of December. On arrival, at my chosen section, it was fairly obvious that there was still a lot of colour in the water. However, the head torch revealed that there was probably around six inches of clarity, so certainly worth a go? Two, very heavily flavoured, baits were in the water before 07.00 hrs and the waiting game commenced. Sunrise was at 07.41 hrs, yet completely non-descript due to the thick grey clouds. It was a very slow morning, even with the camera and binoculars for company, there was little worth mentioning. It wasn't until 09.00 hrs that a bite alarm actually made a sound, I was on the rod within seconds and, after going through the time honoured ritual, found myself attached to a spirited opponent. In the net within a couple of minutes. My prize was a nice Pike of 13 lbs 14 oz and turned out to be the only action of the session, despite me remaining on the bank until 13.00 hrs!

A bent rod and a December "double" - what's to moan about?

I seen the odd Chiffchaff and Little Egret, whilst tending my rods, but it really was very quiet out there this morning. A couple of Ravens got into a noisy dispute, way out over the marsh and several, perched,  Common Buzzards could be picked out when scanning the area with my bins. It wasn't, however, until I was making my way back to the van when the highlight of the day occurred. I was almost back to the van when I espied what I first thought was a, very pale, Grey Squirrel drinking from the canal on the opposite bank. A closer inspection revealed it to be a rather spectacular-looking Mink.. Now whilst I am no fan of these American vermin, even I had to admit that this individual was worthy of a second glance. I quickly grabbed the camera kit from the barrow and managed to record a few shots which do the encounter justice.

A very striking individual.

I won't be back on the bank again until Saturday, at the earliest. The Christmas decorations need some attention before everything surplus is returned to the loft. To be fair, the weather forecast isn't that brilliant, so I probably wouldn't have gone fishing anyway?

December starts well - up-dated

Well the Christmas decs are down from the loft, along with the massive collection of 35mm slides which require my attention over the next few days. The bungalow, however, now looks like a car boot sale, with boxes and plastic containers scattered around the lounge and conservatory. We expect the chaos to be over before the end of the week, so will do a little bit every day opposed to having to undertake a massive effort within a condensed time slot. Once I'd got the loft stuff sorted out, it was time to take it easy, enjoy a cuppa whilst sat at my desk looking out into the back garden. A 1st yr male Blackbird quickly appeared and was quite a character with a number of white feathers on it's head. The 1.4x converter was fitted to the 100 - 400 mm lens and I grabbed a few shots of this individual whilst it shared the bird bath with a female House Sparrow which also had a white covert feather on display.

The Radio 5 football commentaries were well underway, in the 13.30 hrs Premier League games, when I spotted a Brambling at the feeders. It was away before I managed to grab the camera kit yet returned a few minutes later and allowed me to grab an image, or two, as it drank from the bird bath. 

The garden Hedgehogs continue to remain very active around the food bowl and I got a really nice image of one of the hoglets a couple of nights ago. Obviously, I am having a great time watching these animals, at extremely close quarters, visiting my feeding station yet am fully understanding that other folk will have reservations about my observations? In an attempt to add clarity to my sightings, I am planning to place the food bowl upon a sheet of cardboard, on which I will write the result of a football match that has been played recently.

Just to demonstrate what I'm wanting to achieve, I'll get the Liverpool v's Man City score displayed tonight and use an image, tomorrow, just to counter those sceptics who think I'm making this Hedgehog stuff up! 

Why wait?

The game hasn't ended more than an hour ago and there were two Hedgehogs at the feeding bowls!

A December Hedgehog!

Straight off the back of the camera!