Oxenhope.... black of moon... early april after dark!

Black of Moon.... early april.... (c) 2011............................ Drone on you crazy nocturnal wutherings.... !..................................................... Night draws in and the moon is black..... edge of dark thickens.... relax.... air drops calm and silence reigns with home, warmth and sleep coming near....... pipistrells brush with voice now too high and the toads clasp long in the dykes. As blackness comes the stars shine bright and the dark comes real and alive.... a Lapwing up and wuthering down, then another, another and all around.... mass keening from those on the ground. Snipe in the sky and drumming so near is joined by a few and yet no fear..... Chippering chippering sound surround brought tears to the eye, yet unseen in black sky.....perdix kerrrvicking all dotted about and a grass owl glides past glowing bright on black air. Goldies at roost begin to stir with rippling vibes running right through the pack, some up and back to the moor.... now Curlews behind en-mass in the sky disturbed by some HOB causing esturine cry......Sea pies kubeeking cross water are sleeking in low from pastures afar, to play pipe with their pals from the bay..... yet canadas come at head chopping height all a-hooking from waters below and skating fowl sneak from the rivers each side to bell soft, two tone from the black.... A Redshank pair siren out from the wet in prolonged nocturnal embrace, just making others excited and loud....and a godwit or more wit witing above, pass low on the long way back home ....... sometimes a cock comes roding around assuring its grounds to keep and the ghost of old fox screams long, loud..... and high from Gods eternal pastures above..... no wonder our flatlander friends from below have fear of the grounds up here, after what they have done to them there..... unearthly sound and things flapping around..... quick lets run and get and get out of here.......stop now!.....and thus it goes on and on...all (c) me. Had to leave the final verse out unfortunately as it was just too frightening! but do try it, go out a few times and listen for the night coming ALIVE in calm black conditions...probably have to wait till next year now as the seasons move on but a real experience in very early April and.... I bet you have trouble finding anywhere local where it really happens.... not so at one time, but now if you CAN get away from the background noise there’s just deafening silence and orange light everywhere, not even the avian ghosts of times past can be heard.... everything long dead and gone!..... here at Oxenhope at the edge of the world we are still very lucky, one of the last great local wildernesses...............................

Eight images that speak for themselves! (c) 2011

Dave