Saturday 27 December 2008

Missed!!

Christmas isn't Chrismas without a Robin; unfortunatley there was no snow up in the hills to really set this little fella off Christmas card style.
Here he is in all his digitally zoomed blurredness.

A short safari this afternoon with Frank the mudhound took us to the hills. Very little around in the woods. A small flock of Long Tailed Tits, no more than a handful of Robins, a single and lonely Coal Tit, somewhere overhead a Buzzard peeooo-ed and on the lake there was a small flock of Mallard. Scanning the woods and Rhododendron scrub (see leaves behind Robin) from the valley track revealed no Roe Deer but a fine male Goosander flew over. That was about it. Lots and lots and lots of four footed bird scarers (as Fleetwood Birder - see blog links on right - calls them)


On the way back we decided to do the river crossing in the Land Rover as it hadn't rained too much recently. A successful passage but still deep in the hole; water slooshed over the bonnet and right up and over the windscreen - right foot hard down and keep the power on and hope the engine doesn't run out of air - and relief as we climb out - will the new vehicle get a snorkel?

Good job the safari is getting a new vehicle as the current tore off a piece of the plastic underbumper to the sound of horrible scrunching noises climbing out the far side as it caught on the front wheel.


We were set to film the crossing but the approach is quite rough and my cameraman's finger came off the record button so you don't get us actually reaching the river! Oops - will have try again.


Spot the difference!



Where to next? Well back to the river crossing to see if we can lose the other half of the bumper. (Never realised there was that big rust hole hiding behind the plastic trim!)

In the meantime let us know what bits you have lost of your car in a river this Christmas holiday. Or is your Robin the same as ours. Everywhere us Brits have been we've called something vaguely reddish a Robin...so you must have one somewhere.

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