A Mark Twain Moment

There are various versions of the famous quote by Mark Twain on hearing of the publication of his obituary, but generally it is given as "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated". And so it is for my trio of ducklings. I don't know where they've been hiding, but I'm delighted to report that they were out and about at lunchtime today.

I also saw two swallows (still not really a summer, though). They were perched on a telephone wire at the rear of Falmer Church. Here's one of them.

Earlier in the day I'd taken a similar shot of a goldfinch (different location, out by the fields), but in much better light.

I also saw a rabbit, but unfortunately it seems that myxomatosis is once again affecting the local population. It doesn't affect all of them, but it's an ugly and painful disease that is sadly endemic among the rabbit population. Hopefully it will be a relatively limited outbreak, but it can decimate their numbers.

My final photo for today is a horse. Also out by the farmland fields I visit in the morning.

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Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

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This Post Has 12 Comments

  1. RobinL

    13 Apr 2011

    Words, nice series of shots! Glad you found you ducklings, or they found you! I'm told it will be another couple of weeks before we start to see them here. Our season is so far behind.
    I did see my first Goldfinch in his golden suit yesterday.

  2. anonymous

    13 Apr 2011

    Anonymous writes:

    Glad to hear that those 3 little ducklings are still alive!! Aww, good news.

    Marilyn

  3. gdare

    13 Apr 2011

    Glad to see ducklings are doing OK. A photo of a swallow and a goldfinch just made my day. Which was rainy and gray, btw :left:

  4. cakkleberrylane

    13 Apr 2011

    So encouraging that the ducklings are doing so well. We have a sand crane with a nest right in a lake. We had a tremendous amount of rain and I've worried about her and her eggs. I didn't want to visit the site because of the bad news that might await me. This give me hope!

  5. SittingFox

    14 Apr 2011

    Glad to see them again 🙂 Myxo is less good 🙁

  6. Words

    16 Apr 2011

    Lois, I hope your sand cranes are ok. We could actually do with some rain here, but only in moderation!

  7. Words

    16 Apr 2011

    Erwin, thanks. That was a rare sunny day.

  8. Words

    16 Apr 2011

    Darko, we've been having very mixed weather here. Generally it's dry, but it's been very dull most of the time. The next few days look a little better. 🙂

  9. Words

    16 Apr 2011

    Robin, I can't tell whether our spring came early or late this year. It seems very mixed and the weather still doesn't know what it's doing. Given the number of ducks there, I'm sure we will get more ducklings as summer progresses. One clutch on the pond doesn't seem quite right.

  10. Words

    16 Apr 2011

    Adele, unfortunately I'm seeing a number of myxied (?) rabbits this year. It doesn't look good. 🙁

  11. Words

    16 Apr 2011

    Marilyn, thanks. I was pleased to see them again, and I'm glad they are keeping under cover a little more. That's much safer for them.

  12. Wulpen

    19 Oct 2012

    Very nice photos

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