Sunday 14 February 2010

Sunday 14th.February 2010

Another dreary , miserable day today , but fortunately , yesterday's hedgelaying , in the heart of the Cotswolds , was dry and at times sunny , but also a biting wind . It was an invitation event , where 56 layers from several parts of the country , layed 560 metres of hedge , in their own different styles . Us members of the Surrey Hedgelaying Group layed in South of England style , on what I would call a very variable section , right at the furthest distance from the the car park . Closest to the car park were the Midland style layers , where they clean off the face side of everything layed and leave all the brash on the field side of the hedge , and also have a rope binding across the top of the layed hedge , as opposed to our plait type binding .
But my favourite style on show there , was the Welsh Borders , with a very solid looking hedge , containing a lot of 'dead' , discarded branches , in it's construction , that isn't allowed in either of the other two styles , but it does mean that even a small lamb would not be able to get through it . And , where was all this going on ? At the property of a very well known landowner who lives in the area . Surprisingly , as I had gone down with a filthy cold and sore throat the night before , I managed a 3rd. place in my Class , and was presented with my certificate by the landowner . After leaving the competition , large flocks of Fieldfares were seen on the fields as we headed for the M4 , and along the motorway , 4/5 Common Buzzards and one Red Kite were spotted .
I did that quick post on Friday before travelling down to stay in Cirencester over night . Since getting back , I have had a good look at all the shots taken at Mote Park , and am posting two more of the two target species . The first is of the Water Rail , feeding just behind a Moorhen , and surprised me how much difference there is in size between the two . And another of the Jack Snipe , still dozing , in amongst the vegetation on the bank . It would have been great to get a few shots of it out in the open , but I feel privileged to have seen it at all .
And finally , a shot of the only other thing that was moving on the old pond last Friday morning , a Wren that was constantly on the move , searching for anything edible .

8 comments:

Warren Baker said...

Well done Greenie! One better next year.

I like the hedges that have the 'odd' tree still left in tact, so do Lesser Whitethroats!

ShySongbird said...

Congratulations Greenie! I hadn't realised what a skilled job it is (shame on me!), it is quite an art form in its own right! Very interesting too that there are different 'styles' in different parts of the country.

It was a shame you only saw the one Red Kite, I thought you might have seen more.

Nice photos too.

Simon said...

Congratulations for your hedgelaying result!

Really like the Moorhen and Rail shot.

Orchids and Nature said...

Congratulations on your prize, I've always admired the skill in a good layed hedge.

Phil said...

Well done Greenie! You must be well chuffed. Hope you didn't pass any germs on to the Landowner though.

Kingsdowner said...

Mixing with the toffs now - will you change your blog to 'Green Wax Jacket in the Wild'?

Interesting shot of the water rail and moorhen.

Anonymous said...

Well done on achieving 3rd place Greenie and i on the other hand wished you had passed germs onto that particulat landowner.

Greenie said...

Thank you all for your kind comments .

Warren ,
Trouble is I'll be another year older !

ShySongbird ,
Was dark on the way down Friday night , and getting dark on the way back Saturday late afternoon , otherwise we would have seen more .

Simon/Orchids and Nature
Thank you .

Phil ,
That isn't how Dean sees it !

Steve ,
No ! But if you look closely at the landowner's jacket , it's a tweed one , with bits of Green Wax sown onto it .

Dean ,
He could well have received some in the handshake .