August 4th 2011

Up at 5am to seal my trap because of the impending rain and did not have my thinking head on and with in seconds I had been stung 8 times so not a ideal way to wake up.
By the time Bob came round my thigh had ballooned so with it still raining we went over to the Just So café for a slice of Naomi’s exceedingly tasty lemon meringue cake and meet up with Paul and Colin for a chat.
On the way home there was a break in the weather so called in on the pond and jammed in on Wood Sandpiper that was on farborough spit with 3 Dunlin, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper and a Ringed Plover. The wood suddenly let out an alarm call and flew off caused by 2 Hobby’s high overhead but returned to the spit.



Also present were 4 Yellow-legged Gull, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 11 Buzzard, 35 Mute Swan, 97 Great-crested Grebe, 35 Swift, Sand Martins, 3 Common Tern and a few warblers showed with 2 Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap and a brief view of a possible Redstart but it could not be relocated before the rain returned.
On Saturday LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 no 60163 Tornado will be hauling The Cathedral Express from: Euston-Worcester-Euston. Provisional times published today and subject to change has her passing Northampton at 09:35, stopping at Rugby at 10:00 leaving at 10:12 on the Trent valley line to Nuneaton where it will take on water from 10:34 to 1055 before continuing via Water Orton, Walsall and Kidderminster. The return times are vague due to the possibilitie of it being re-routed.

Richard