A young blue tit (they still have yellow cheeks) was found near the Egg by my neighbour Nick who preserved it for me in the refrigerator. Birds of many species have recently fledged but not all will make it to adulthood.
Category Archives for Lost & Found
After Life
An examination of the two dead mice found last summer revealed different processes of decomposition; one of dry mummification and the second of slimy rot. I will remove the slime on the latter and bring into light its skeletal structure.
diagram courtesy of http://imgarcade.com/1/rodent-skeleton-diagram/
Wishes of Wellness
Thank you to everyone for wishes of wellness after yesterday’s accident. Today the river made its feelings known too.
Chinese Translucent White
This large Chinese translucent white was found yesterday in a mud pool at 50-47-07.69N x 1-24-27.62W, left behind by the tide. It is thought to have first entered the country in large shipping containers and spread quickly throughout most of England. This specimen is not in the best condition and the upper wings have lost most of their multicoloured glittery scales, but its life expectancy runs to many scores of years in the wild unless captured and recycled.
An overwintering red admiral and a brimstone were spotted this morning but proved more difficult to capture on film.
Tangled Up and Blue
The northern edges of the sinewy outer bank I call Snake Island, were rich in strands of unravelled polyester rope of many bright colours, twisted around the branches of tamarisk bushes and out across the river bed; little reminders of our poor and tangled relationship with all things natural. All being well, the pink flush of the tamarisk blossom will add its own distinctive hue to the scene in just a few weeks time.
Sunset Yellow
A discarded bucket caught my eye when it was lit up in the light of the setting sun this evening; a yellow plastic counterpoint to the warmth of the sun against my exposed face and hands. For the first time in weeks of wet and windy weather, I felt I could take off my heavy coat.
Guillemot
A Guillemot perished on the western edge of my parish during the recent stormy weather. Spending most of its life at sea, it would only have chosen the land as a place to breed.
Pannage
Source: http-//www.thenewforest.co.uk/discover/pigs.aspx
Christmas Tree
The tree is an appropriately curved frond from a Cedar of Labanon (appropriately biblical), found nearby within the confines of Exbury Gardens. It nestles in the arc of the inner wall is decorated with flotsam from the shore. On Twelfth Night, each item will be taken down, carefully recorded and stored for my growing Egg archive.
Dust Bath
Beside the eastern bank of the river some 200 yards south of the Egg, a fallen fir provides bathing facilities for some of the many partridge encountered on my walk with local birding expert Juliet. Five or six separate wriggle holes were evident in the fine dusty ground. Around the other side, an interesting looking bottle has somehow found its way under the upturned roots of the tree.
The Exbury Egg 