Towpath & Cromwell Bottom 31/1/08

Morning all
Back to the winter crap again this morning on my walk, with gales, heavy rain and occasional hail showers. No Les this morning due to the bad weather so I cut the walk short just nipping around Tag Loop via the disabled path and back on the river path to the canal to put out some seed. I was very pleased that my feeding over the last few weeks along the fence posts and hawthorn hedge is paying dividends in terms of bird numbers building up in this area. I had the good fortune this morning to pick out 4 male Reed Buntings and 1 male Yellowhammer amongst the Dunnocks and Chaffinches. The Reed Buntings and Yellowhammer were at the far end of the path near the gate and stile as you come over the river bridge from North Bank to Tag. I am certain about the Reed Buntings and 90% sure about the Yellowhammer, the only doubt if it is some bunting I don't recognise that looks like a Yellowhammer ? I would be grateful if anyone down at CB keeps an look out and see if they can confirm my sighting this morning. I only had the compact bins with me this morning AND the weather made it difficult to keep anything in sight for more than a few seconds at a time.

Coming back up the towpath home I nipped off the path to check through the willow scrub to see if I could find any further patches of the Scarlet Elf Cup fungus I mentioned the other day. As I was up the banking looking I spotted Bambi & Bambino the two Roe deer well out in the open grazing in dump field. I decided to nip back down to the canal towpath to get a better view of them, bad idea ! As I came down the banking my feet went from under me, a tree branch caught my parka hood and half strangled me as I slid down the slope, by the the time I extricated myself my whole life was flashing before me ! It didn't help either that I had watched the Blair Witch Project film last night, so a change of underware was in order when I got home :-))