Watching you, watching me

A female black darter dragonfly perched on the end of a dead rush leaf at Foulshaw Moss. It was another expedition with the tree fellas, this time with the mission of seeing dragons and damsels, bog bush crickets, red deer and ospreys. We were successful with the Odonata, seeing emperors and brown hawkers patrolling across the big pond, while the weaker black darters flew around the edges. The big fella can hear the song of the bog bush cricket, while my ears no longer pick up the high frequencies - so we managed to home in on a few of them with his assistance. We failed on the red deer and ospreys, but had the bonus of two peregrine falcons crying as they flew over our heads. The little fella meanwhile was getting anxious that he was missing out on deer, so on the way home we called in on Levens Park to see the herd of fallow which are unusual for their small stature and dark coats.

There is much else to report about this busy day, and I will try and come back later and add more detail, but the other big event of the day concerned Gus. He had been very unwell in the night, so we took him to the vet in the morning. Then from Milnthorpe, we travelled with him to Lancaster where they are better equipped to treat him. He was put on a rehydration drip, and was given intravenous antibiotics. The news is that he has perked up with the treatment, but he is staying in overnight for observation. We've been glad of the tree fellas being here to distract us from worrying about poor Gus. But the signs are good that he is on the mend.

There won't be time for much comment this evening, we are off to see Midsummer Night's Dream in the grounds of Leighton Hall.

If you have time the tree fellas blips are here for the little fella and here for the big fella.. And thank you to those of you who took the trouble to view and comment on their blips yesterday, they are both delighted.