Around and about: Drusilla's Park

During our visit to Sussex we took Mum-in-Law Mary to Drusilla's Park, an absolutely delightful establishment that is attempting to breed a number of threatened species. (My older brother Rob has endowed the park in memory of his daughter Susie, who once worked there)

We had a fabulous morning: our particular favourites were the Red Pandas, Giant Anteaters and the animatronic dinosaurs.

On the way home we stopped at Wilmington to see the 'Long Man', a hill figure that might date back to the early iron age.

Down to Sussex: an enjoyable break despite the weather

Linda and I made our biannual drive through the night to spend a few days with her Mum, Mary, who lives in Hove just below the South Downs. Our usual accommodation at Findon was fully booked, but Linda discovered a cottage that was equally charming and better in several ways: it stood alone in the secluded grounds of a rural garden centre at Poynings, As we were unloading, a Great Spotted Woodpecker 'chipped' overhead: Linda needed no further encouragement to visit the garden centre and buy some suet, seeds and a feeder! Within the hour the woodie - and dozens of Blue and Great Tits - began visiting, continuing to do so throughout our stay.

The weather was less than kind, with total cloud cover and virtually constant drizzle, but - as you'll see - we still managed to have a good time (despite failing to see the comet or Hunters' Moon!) including visits to Brighton Car Boot, Lewes and numerous coffee shops!

 

No comet yet!

I spent an hour after sunset scouring the western sky for a glimpse of Tsuchinshan, but failed to see or photograph the comet: 'X' marks its rough position! I did manage Mercury, however and dozens of Starlink satellites - they are becoming a nuisance!

Beaver hunt at Sculthorpe

Linda and I persuaded friends Peter and Sue to join us on a rare visit inside the Beaver enclosure at the Hawk & Owl Trust at Sculthorpe, A very informative talk was followed by a trek through several miles of marsh, during which the only signs of Beavers were a few gnawed tree trunks and a lodge at the edge of some wet woodland. It started to rain - heavily - and we found the path blocked by deep water, so we walked the long way back to the car, before changing and adjourning to a nearby pub (The Aviator) for supper. This was the highlight of the evening - just superb ambience, food and service - until we returned home to witness the wonderful auroral display...

The best aurora I've ever seen!

Following a guided Beaver hunt at Sculthorpe H&WT reserve with Peter, Sue & Linda (no Beavers!) I took a last look to the north before bed and was thrilled to see the whole sky was glowing red, green and purple. I alerted the others and we all oo-ed and ah-ed at the cosmic firework display for an hour or so. Three hours later, there's still a naked eye aurora!

Linda's pet Partridge!

We have had family groups of Red-legged Partridges visiting the garden for years: one of them has become so habituated that he/she sits on the lawn 'clucking to be fed! I find them amusing and beautiful birds to see in the garden...