Well, bang goes my favourite stopping spot....

Took a brief trip out to LHF yesterday afternoon - had planned to depart at 2pm but got stuck with work things so didn't get out until 3.30 and the light was already going. Still, it was nice to get out and I was looking forward to stopping at the bridge to listen out for the water vole which has its territory in the mint and wild cress beds there. It's a lovely spot overlooking a 6-7 ft wide and slow moving field boundary ditch with reeds and mace, water mint and small pockets of duckweed. Along its length you find kingfishers, herons, various duck, swans, numerous plants, insects galore and, of course, water voles. Barn owls hunt its banks and the occasional egret sometimes flies up as you pass.

This time though ...... they'd dredged the channel and scooped all the weed and associated gubbins out, leaving a long, straight and sterile looking gash along the roadside. From the bridge all you could see was what now looked like a new drainage ditch - cold, empty and devoid of life. The little water cress patches which had provided the w-v with a route from one side to the next under relative cover were gone apart from a small line along the edge in one spot. No ducks..... no swans.... I sat and listened to the distant barking of a farm dog and then there was an amazing noise as a group of around 30 swans flew about 10 ft over us in almost darkness. A tawny called in a nearby copse, then silence.

Then..... nosh...nosh...nosh.... nosh..... Somewhere under the bridge, a w-v was having supper.

It will be interesting to watch the banks re-growing again with the Spring. Might try to remember (time allowing) to do a photo timeline of the view up and down from the bridge over the next year and try to log the various birds/beasts and herbage that appears.