fifteen lumps of mud

It was a busy day today - Dipper taxis were fully booked. I sneaked a half hour at the high ground on the way to the Supermarket and found a large troop of metal-detectorists on the ploughed fields on the north side of the old airfield. The one I spoke to was a bit disgruntled - paid thirty quid and hadn't found much. The way he described the local area was intriguing. Whereas I see habitat, fly-ways, and viewing points, he saw ancient tracks, forgotten camps, farms and villages, and Tudor farmhouses with piles of old coins dropped over the centuries.

I went back to the field north of Tharbies which has been subject to a fine ploughing. There were a few gulls, and fifteen incongruous lumps of mud. Through the scope these turned out to be, as expected, Golden Plover. As time passed they became more active and started walking round and wing-lifting (apparently something they seem to do to signal to distant birds). In the end I got to over twenty birds, but their disguise against the mud was just amazing.