Tuesday 15th May
I make no apologies in the delay of updates; it’s been a fine May, and I’m going to make the most of it. After all, with our climate it’s a possibility that we might have had summer.
That’s humour by the way, not negativity. You could positively look upon a cold winter as a precursor to a fine summer!
I had a grand time at the Somerset Levels, and there’s more to come, however for a change of scenery I decided to revisit Lower Moor Farm in Aston Keynes after several years.
The Wiltshire CDR, Steve Covey, and a few other good friends from Flickr and Facebook steered my choice with their fabulous photos of Downy seemingly willing to perch long enough for a photo.
Weather was perfect, however navigation was not. I’ve been using Waze for a few years without error yet for some reason the postcode entered steered me directly to Melksham, which was a tad off the mark!
I should have known from memory, and despite a nagging feeling I carried on, seeing some marvelous aspects of the Cotswold countryside I’ve not seen before.
Every cloud…
I finally arrived an hour late and eager so I made my way around the reserve until I located the hot-spot – a path with a perfect row of trees face-on to the sun. I’d already encountered several Downy on the walk through so signs were good.
There were a few people already on site and one helpful individual with bins pointed out a fresh male with wings still closed high in a tree while within the confines of some lower branches was the perfect opportunity.
It wasn’t long before I was on my own so I took in the surroundings and waited for my own opportunities which on one occasion featured a photo-bombing Azure.
Nice one that; let’s get in a tad closer if he’ll let me.
I explored the path to the south which also turned out to be a prime feeding spot with several circling the trees and usually landing high. So much to explore here, but I needed to focus and returned to the path and waited.
Besides the Downy their were also a few Hairy coming in to feed, flying low along the path, and a few Azure. However I was here for the Downy and remained focused.
The feeding activity became more sporadic during the heat of the afternoon and the next major feast would more than likely arrive early evening and having stood in more or less the same spot for hours I had one last look around before the long journey home.
So the hype is real then; a marvelous little reserve to spend a few hours – especially for Downy.