Bird day, Craners and a very helpful young man

31 May

Yesterday was not a lazy day. No, we were up early and set off for Slimbridge for our first day’s birding since February. A couple of years ago I went off with the local birding club to see a flock of cranes as they flew into the Stubbs Mill area in Norfolk. What a sight that was; 23 cranes flying in, and they are not small birds either. Ever since I’ve wanted to get Jan down there to see them but something has always got in the way.

Earlier this week there was an item on BBC Midlands Toady about a pair of Cranes having hatched two chicks. That was certainly within striking distance for us. And yesterday we went off to look for them, and we found them! Sadly they have lost one chick; although we got clear views of one adult we didn’t see the chick. But we were happy about that and thought the day not wasted. Or so we thought.

We met up with the man again who not only point out that solitary crane, but also a sparrow hawk not 10 feet from a grey heron we try to get shots of. There we were sat in another hide when the same man pointed out a tawny owl sat in trees opposite us. After a very lack-lustre lunch in the café there, we set off to do the last of hides and that is where we saw the pair of cranes together and where we learned that they had lost a chick.

Overall we had a great day out and arrived home shattered, but happy. But it hasn’t ended yet for me yet. I have the year list to bring up to date and 286 images to work my way through.  I’ve just done the first one for a new image to post today … 

It’s a rook of course, not a very exciting in itself but here it was just about 15 feet away from me. Common as much, as the saying goes, but that is a good image of one!

I have always been fascinated with the French Revolution. Not only did France become a republic by getting rid of its monarchy and nobility class, it brought men like Napoleon to the front of public life. Anyway, it was on this day in 1793 that the terror began.

          

And today’s funny …

I purchased three airline tickets to fly my family to New York for a family vacation. I told my son, that just turned 3 years old,  that I didn’t buy him a ticket. I instructed him to tell the man at the ticket counter that he is 2, and doesn’t need a ticket. When we get to the ticket counter the man was a little suspicious. He asked my son, “Do you know what happens to little boys who lie about their age?” “Sure,” my son replied. “They get to fly for free!!!”