After all that good news and fun, I was rather shattered today by the result of the first annual count for this year of the Heron's nests at Lympne. In spite of double-checking and peering carefully through the emerging foliage, thus:-
I only managed to count 6, yes six, occupied nests this morning, with another two either under construction, or worse, abandoned. I shall count again in 2 or 3 weeks to find out. This count is an all-time low compared with the counts I have been able to access since the late 1950's. The previous low was a count of 8 nests in 1960, 1961, and 2009.
On a more uplifting note, the Orchids in particular put on a spectacular show even though they are "only" Common Spotted Orchids, and the display of wildflowers generally in this fairly specific habitat was superb
although I took care not to disturb the Ramsons so as not to cause too much of a stink!
this specimen stood about 15" ( sorry 37cm) high and looked gorgeous in that ray of sunshine
and finally, a poor photo, though better than yesterday's, of our new, blue, resident to cheer me up a bit - no sign of the missus yet
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