Discovering the Wildlife

Venturing out into the sun and scrub beyond the resort to see what was common.  From the top: White-Crowned Pigeon; Ruddy Turnstone (same bird as ours); Gray Kingbird (a large flycatcher); Mongoose (an introduced species); Silver Spider (argiope argentata); Bananaquit; Magnificent Frigate Bird (immature); our friendly cabin lizard and Antillean Crested Hummingbird. 

Off to the Windies

7.30 in the morning at Gatwick saw Ann and I, plus Peter and Holly, having breakfast after checking in our baggage and negotiating security.  Less than twelve hours later were in Antigua, W.I. and finding our cabin, the beach and the cocktail bar.  Welcome to Paradise, as the passport officer said to me.

The Old Folks at Home

Yesterday we finished the 1000-piece jigsaw we were given for Christmas, completing it in just under a month.  

Buzzard

                     A buzzard in the field behind the house.

Wolf Moon

Penumbral Moon.  Photographed at 1900hrs today.  Because it was shadowed by the Earth, it was much darker than it usually is.

While Matt took Sadie to see the new Star Wars film we took Meredith to Welney to see the swans.  It was even more flooded than our most recent visit; we offered Bug twenty pence for every species she recorded.  In between colouring in drawings she saw 27.  We visited the Pond Room, where she dissected an owl pellet and found skulls and bones and live maggots.  All in all a magical day for the three of us.  

Wicken in Winter

David and Jan were visiting from Guernsey, and Ann was in Edinburgh, so I met them at Wicken and took them round the reserve.  We saw a male Hen Harrier, and David was delighted to see GS Woodpeckers and Fieldfares and Redwings, which are rare on the Islands.  The Buzzard pursued by Crows had a very full crop, and we saw several Marsh Harriers.