Let us dance in the sun, wearing wildflowers in our hair

Despite the harsh spring weather, the garden was coming into its own. As the bulbs faded and herbaceous grew in leap and bound, it was clear that summer was here to stay. It was also time to get back into the lawn mowing regime, as the grass and the weeds were loving the warmer temperatures. It was a very good excuse to get a new lawnmower as our old one had gone to mow the lawn in the sky. Lush growth everywhere after the glorious spring blossoms and butterflies and bugs started appearing. A juvenile Blackbird and a Marsh tit was a welcome sight. The garden was alive and colourful again.

Come into the garden, Maud,

  For the black bat, night, has flown,

Come into the garden, Maud,

  I am here at the gate alone;

And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad,      

  And the musk of the rose is blown.

For a breeze of morning moves,

  And the planet of Love is on high,

Beginning to faint in the light that she loves

  On a bed of daffodil sky,

       

To faint in the light of the sun she loves,

  To faint in his light, and to die.

All night have the roses heard

  The flute, violin, bassoon;

All night has the casement jessamine stirr’d

  To the dancers dancing in tune;

Till silence fell with the waking bird,

  And a hush with the setting moon.

I said to the lily, “There is but one

  With whom she has heart to be gay

When will the dancers leave her alone?

  She is weary of dance and play.”

Now half to the setting moon are gone,

  And half to the rising day;

Low on the sand and loud on the stone

      

  The last wheel echoes away.

I said to the rose, “The brief night goes

  In babble and revel and wine.

O young lord-lover, what sighs are those,

  For one that will never be thine?

      

But mine, but mine,” I sware to the rose,

  “For ever and ever, mine.”

And the soul of the rose went into my blood,

  As the music clash’d in the hall:

And long by the garden lake I stood,

  

  For I heard your rivulet fall

From the lake to the meadow and on to the wood,

  Our wood, that is dearer than all;

From the meadow your walks have left so sweet

  That whenever a March-wind sighs

     

~Alfred Tennyson, ‘Come into the garden, Maud’~

We made several trips to our favourite playground and spent hours at the hide, observing and photographing Mother Nature at her best. As soon as we parked the car, we were greeted by this handsome Swallow checking us out. It was lovely to see him on the wire as they usually spent most of their time on the wing. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they were extremely agile in flight. They had arrived from South Africa, flying over the Sahara to breed here. Now was the time to rest and replenish before finding a mate.

When we walked through the visitor centre into the courtyard, we were greeted my this Pied wagtail with a beakful of juicy morsels. She was watching us, waiting for us to move away so that she could feed her chicks. After posing for a few photographs, we left her in peace. She had a nest under the solar panels where she’d been using for a couple of years. The eggs were incubated for 13 days and the nestlings fledged after 14-15 days.

At Baldwin Hide, we checked the courting behaviour of the Common Terns. They had arrived from their wintering grounds along the coasts of the tropics and southern hemispheres,  These delightful silvery-grey and white birds had long tails which earned them the nickname ‘sea-swallow’. They’d buoyant, graceful flight and hovered over water before plunging down for a fish. The long pointed wings gave them the fast, buoyant flight. They were noisy in company and bred in colonies. .

The male had selected a nesting territory a few days after his arrival and was joined by his previous partner unless she was more than 5 days late, in which case the pair may separate. Pairs were established through aerial courtship displays in which they flew in wide circles, calling all the while, before descending together in zigzag glides. On the ground, he courted her by circling her with his tail and neck raised, head pointing down, and wings partially open. When she responded, they adopted a posture with both head pointing upwards. Then the magic began

Three floating pontoons were specially erected for the Terns but unfortunately one was occupied by a pair of nesting Canada Geese. One unhappy Tern showed his displeasure with an alarm call, opened his wings, raised his tail and bowed his head to show his black cap to the goose. Unfortunately, the nesting pair was here to stay until the goslings hatched. Until then, the Tern might have to find another pontoon. The nest might be a bare scrape in sand or gravel, but was often lined with whatever debris was available. Up to three eggs may be laid, their dull colours and blotchy patterns provided camouflage. Incubation was by both sexes and the eggs hatched in around 21-22 days. The downy chicks will fledged in 22-28 days. 

We were chuffed to bits when we found out that the Oystercatcher which was nesting by the island had a chick. We couldn’t see it at first because it was so well camouflaged. We knew it would appear as soon as one of its parent arrived.  Chicks often remained hidden under vegetation, rocks, etc, and this behaviour probably reduced the risk of predation.  The egg had hatched after being incubated between 24-39 days. The parents shared parental duties such as incubating the eggs, brooding the young chicks, chasing potential predators and provisioning the chicks until well after fledging. The parents then flew in with their distinctive and shrill piping ‘kleep, kleep’ calls. Their loud calls and gregarious behaviour made them harder to miss.

The downy chick had a tiny, weeny black bill, pale-mid grey upper parts with black markings and off white underparts. It was totally dependent in its parents for food until it could fly. It would fledged in 33 days but still dependant on its parents for food, and often seen begging from their parents well after fledging. Their main diet was shellfish and included mussels, cockles, clams and limpets but for the chick, it was earthworms and insect larvae. Oystercatchers were also one of the few species of waders that carried food to their young. Only one item of prey was carried per trip. One of the parent was also prising or hammering open a mussel with its strong, flattened orange bill.

A Greylag came quite close to the chick and one of the parent literally flew towards it, using the long orange-red bill as a weapon. It was dive-bombing, making contact and screeching its head off. During the breeding season, pairs aggressively defended their territory. Chicks were vigorously defended by both parents, often well after fledging. This was because they only made one nesting attempt per breeding season, which was timed over the summer months. Usually, the pair returned to the same mate and territory year after year.

The chick left the nest within one or two days of hatching. Although it was dependent on its parents for food and protection, this little guy was quite independent and was wandering along the mudflats, under the watchful eyes of its parents. But if it sensed danger, it will freeze. Chicks were warned of danger with a sharp, loud ‘chip’ or ‘click’. I found it so adorable that it found the heat unbearable and was finding shelter under a bush. Soon, it would have a dark tip to the bill, browner dorsal plumage and grey legs.

The Oystercatcher family had shared the island with a family of Coots. It was quite incredible to see two very territorial birds nesting on a small island. After being incubated by both parents for 21-26 days, 4 adorable ‘cootlings’ were hatched. The chicks were precocial, but were brooded at the nest for the first 3-4 days.They were black with scattered yellow down around the head. The bare crown was reddish. The bills and the very small shield were red. Eyes were hazel to grey-brown.

There were lots of short contact calls ‘kow’, ‘kowk’, ‘kup’ or sharp ‘kik’. The parent used several foraging methods such as scraping algae from substrate, gleaning, dabbling, upending, diving and grazing for seeds, aquatic plants, worms, leeches and insects. Food was brought up to the surface rather than eaten underwater and fed first bill to bill by both parents. Coots could be very brutal to their own young under pressure such as lack of food, and they would attacked their own chicks when they begged for food. Thankfully, there was an abundant of food here.

From time to time, we could hear the Cuckoo calling and the calls were getting closer and closer. But first, we’d to stop at East Marsh Hide and it was like a waders creche. On the main island, was another family of Oystercatchers with 3 adorable chicks. That was a full house and trying to keep an eye on them was going to be a nightmare for the parents. Since the island was overpopulated with families of Canada Geese, Lapwings and Mallards, they were moving off to another island. Unfortunately, one of the chicks wasn’t too keen to swim across and kept on turning back. But Dad was there to keep him in line.

The gulled sky shrieks above a mournful sea;
In the grey austerity, the wind moans.
Like candyfloss, spun by the waves,
The spindrift balloons above the billows.
Stunted, tenebrous trees claw at the waves
Which gargle and gurgle through time-worn stones.

Bladderwracked rocks peep from the Stygian depths,
Then disappear below the breathing tide.
The brittle reek of iodine and kelp
Pervades this melancholic atmosphere.
Flashing white "V"s, screaming over the waves,
Suddenly a flight of oystercatchers

With their insistent whistling, hits the shore.
Scuttering in the receding water,
Their orange bills probe like nodding donkeys.
They're happy enough in their quest for food,
Immune to man's weather-born changing moods
And unconcerned about the gathering storm.

~William Messent ‘Oystercatchers’~

A Lapwing chick was on the mudflat and was waving the family bon voyage. It was covered in down when it hatched and was able to walk and feed within hours. All Lapwing chicks are nidifugous, leaving the scrape or nest shortly after hatching to wander, still downy and on disproportionately long legs. This chick was very independent, spending time foraging for invertebrates around the edges of the mudflats. However, it still relied on its mother to brood, as it was unable to regulate its own body temperature. It was also vulnerable at this age, relying on its parent to alarm call at the sign of danger and on its camouflage to protect from predation.

Its parent was keeping an eye on a pair of Little Ring Plovers. The nest and chicks were defended noisily and aggressively against all intruders but the Plovers were much more interested in foraging. Small and rotund waders, they foraged for invertebrates and crustaceans in a very distinct way; standing and watching, running forward, pecking, daintily picking up morsels of food then standing still again. It was quite cute to watch them scuttering across the mudflat, sometimes energetically trampling around on the sand to flush prey out of hiding places.

A male Muntjac made an appearance on Wigeon Bank. Bucks had short antlers growing from long pedicles which were usually unbranched. The visible upper canine or tusks suggested that they were primitive species. There was a ginger forehead with pronounced black lines running up the pedicles. He was feeding on the young shoots as he walked along the path into the other deeper parts of the reserve. Muntjac were known as ‘barking deer’ from the repeated loud barks given under a number of circumstances but I’d never heard them.

When we heard the Cuckoo calls getting closer, we made our way to Ted Jury hide. But, I had to stop to photograph this Orange Tip, my first photograph of the year. It was true sign of spring being one of the first species to emerge that hadn’t overwintered as an adult. I’d seen them earlier but they were always fluttering about. This butterfly do not form discrete colonies and wandered in every direction as it flew along the hedgerows and woodland margins looking for a mate, nectar sources or foodplants. This was a male with the orange tips to the forewings which were absent in the female.

We continued walking and was distracted by a small olive-brown warbler actively flitting through the trees with a distinctive tail-wagging movement. It was picking insects from the trees and often flew out to snap them up in flight.  When it settled on a branch, we found out that it was a Chiffchaff. At this rate we will never reach Ted Jury. This warbler got its name from its simple distinctive, repetitive cheerful chiff-chaff. This song was one of the first avian signs that spring had returned. But in summer, after finding a mate, it went quiet.

Finally, we were at Ted Jury and just in time for the Cuckoo, a dove-sized bird with blue grey upper parts, head and chest with dark barred white underparts. They were summer visitors and well-known brood parasites with the females laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, especially Meadow pipits, Dunnocks and Reed warblers. Only the male cuckoo calls cuckoo while the female’s bubbling call was often said to resemble the sound of bath water running out when the plug was pulled. Unfortunately I’d never heard the female’s call.

O blithe New-comer! I have heard,

I hear thee and rejoice.

O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,

Or but a wandering Voice?

While I am lying on the grass

Thy twofold shout I hear;

From hill to hill it seems to pass,

At once far off, and near.

Though babbling only to the Vale

Of sunshine and of flowers,

Thou bringest unto me a tale

Of visionary hours.

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!

Even yet thou art to me

No bird, but an invisible thing,

A voice, a mystery;

The same whom in my school-boy days

I listened to; that Cry

Which made me look a thousand ways

In bush, and tree, and sky.

To seek thee did I often rove

Through woods and on the green;

And thou wert still a hope, a love;

Still longed for, never seen.

And I can listen to thee yet;

Can lie upon the plain

And listen, till I do beget

That golden time again.

O blessèd Bird! the earth we pace

Again appears to be

An unsubstantial, faery place;

That is fit home for Thee!

William Wordsworth ‘To the Cuckoo’

After the pair had gone, a Hobby did a fly-past with its long pointed wings. Hobbies were flying aces among Falcons. Cutting and swirling through the air with graceful beats of their long wings, performing agile and daring manoeuvres. Dragonflies and other insects were easily snatched right out of the air, while Swifts and Swallows were swooped on with deadly speed. They were the only falcon that spent the winter months south of the Sahara desert and also the only falcon that bred in Britain to have a red under-tail coverts and ‘trousers’.

A Great Spotted woodpecker flew onto the nearby tree. It was a female because there were no red markings on the neck or head. It was clinging to the tree trunk hunting for insects, larvae, ants and spiders in the nooks and crevices. Easily accessible items were picked off the barks or from fissures in the bark, but larvae were extracted by chiselling holes and trapping them with the tongue. The stiff tail feathers were used as a prop against the trunk. Then it flew off with a very distinctive bouncing flight.

After all the excitement, we thought of chilling out at Steely Hide before heading home. But then, the Kingfisher appeared and all you could hear were our cameras rattling again.

It was the Rainbow gave thee birth,
And left thee all her lovely hues;
And, as her mother’s name was Tears,
So runs it in my blood to choose
For haunts the lonely pools, and keep
In company with trees that weep.

Go you and, with such glorious hues,
Live with proud peacocks in green parks;
On lawns as smooth as shining glass,
Let every feather show its marks;
Get thee on boughs and clap thy wings
Before the windows of proud kings.

Nay, lovely Bird, thou art not vain;
Thou hast no proud, ambitious mind;
I also love a quiet place
That’s green, away from all mankind;
A lonely pool, and let a tree
Sigh with her bosom over me.

William Henry Davies ‘The Kingfisher’

Come we to the summer

Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come,

For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom,

And the crow is on the oak a-building of her nest,

And love is burning diamonds in my true lover's breast;

She sits beneath the whitethorn a-plaiting of her hair,

And I will to my true lover with a fond request repair;

I will look upon her face, I will in her beauty rest,

And lay my aching weariness upon her lovely breast.

The clock-a-clay is creeping on the open bloom of May,

The merry bee is trampling the pinky threads all day,

And the chaffinch it is brooding on its grey mossy nest

In the whitethorn bush where I will lean upon my lover's breast;

I'll lean upon her breast and I'll whisper in her ear

That I cannot get a wink o'sleep for thinking of my dear;

I hunger at my meat and I daily fade away

Like the hedge rose that is broken in the heat of the day.

~John Clare~

In late April and through most of May, a bluebell woodland sight and smell was an experience unequalled in nature. The flowers cast a blue mist of enchant, beguiling our senses and persuading us to believe once more in magic. They hid for 50 weeks of the year but for a couple of weeks only they all came out en masse in their finest clothes, like guests at a wedding, and the sight of them was the purest pleasure of the English springtime. This was my favourite place to be during my lunch break, wandering through the forest with the subtle scent and dappled sunlight surrounded by a sea of purple blue flowers.

Given the age, majesty and magic of them, it was not surprising that many myths and legends had grown up around them. They were sometimes called fairy bells and folklore suggested that the wee folk used them to trap children who strayed too far into the bluebell woods. The flowers tinkled when fairies were summoning their kin to a gathering bit if humans heard them, it was their death knell. I wished they put this notice up that it was unlucky to trample on a bed of bluebells, because you would anger the fairies resting there.

The Bluebell was one of the ‘indicator species’ of ancient woodland, which meant that the woods had been in existence since at least 1600. Unfortunately global warming and climate change had unleashed subtle changes, creating problems for them. They took advantage of a brief window of opportunity in nature, the time between the warming of the soil and the closure of the woodland canopy. With spring recorded earlier, the canopy was coming earlier, resulting in this window slowly closing. Unless the bluebell reached maturation before the other plants, it cannot set viable seed and ensuring a fresh carpeting of flowers the following spring. If they were to disappear, we would lose an inspirational natural experience.

We made another trip to Slimbridge when we found out that at least 3 pairs of Common Crane was nesting. Crane pairs started to break away from any winter flocks in February and March, and began roosting (in shallow pools) in the vicinity of potential nest sites, in an attempt to monitor general suitability prior to nesting. So these pairs had already chosen theirs. We left the casa at 10.11 am and the mercury reaching 17.6C. The sun was already up and it was predicted to be a hot, sunny day. We headed straight to Rushy and just outside the hide on a the lower pond island was probably Sedge, incubating her two eggs, on an abandoned Black-headed gull nest. Crane nests were usually constructed from dead vegetation, such as reeds, bulrushes or rushes. They were generally situated in shallow water, either within, at the edge of, or hidden within standing vegetation a few metres from open pools.

We were hoping that she might stand up to stretch her long legs and rolled her eggs. But not today. She was content to sit and keep her eggs warm. Her first egg was laid on 29th April and the second, the next day. Male and female cranes took turns to incubate of about 2-4 hours during the daylight hours. The females do most of the incubating at night while the males stand guard. The parents made purring noise to the eggs while gently rolling them to insure a proper embryo development. From time to time, she stretched her long neck to pick a pebble or a stick and  redecorate her domain.

We kept an eye for the return of her partner, 8 year-old Monty but I guess he was busy foraging in the fields. During the breeding season, Cranes were omnivorous, typically probing for, and picking at a wide range of plants, vertebrate and invertebrate food items. We prayed very hard that this year their breeding attempts would be successful as the pair had made 2 nesting attempts, one failed at egg stage and the other after hatching. We followed their progress in 2016 but the chick died. Initial post mortem result showed underlying lung and kidney disease were the cause of death. There was no nesting attempts in 2017.

We also found out that another pair, Bart and Ruby too had a nest on the duck marsh at the top of Hogarth Hide. On the 22nd April, Ruby was seen sitting on the nest which meant that she was incubating. This pair had made several unsuccessful  breeding attempts since 2014. But in 2017, after abandoning the first nest, they welcomed a baby chick on 12th June. Again, we were there nearly every week, checking their progress.The 2nd egg hatched on 13/14th June.  Unfortunately, on 27th June, the older crane chick killed its sibling, a normal behaviour in the wild. Since the younger chick hatched, it had been ritually bullied by its elder sibling. When one of the parents left the area, it became aggressive as only one parent was present to feed them. A very sad and sobering insight into the life of a Crane which was completely natural. Fortunately, this gave the older chick a better chance of survival since it was fed by 2 parents.

Again, disaster struck. The chick was not seen since the 25th of July and both parents were spotted roaming the reserve and even displaying to each other. They wouldn’t leave the chick unattended if all was well so it was assumed that it had perished. It wasn’t the outcome everyone was hoping for. So we were keeping everything crossed this time. Unlike the last time, the pair had built a nest hidden away from prying eyes, right at the end of Hogarth Hide and only the silhouette could be seen from the Discovery Hide, if you look hard through the binoculars.

The 3rd pair was 5 year old Oakie and 4 year old Sherbert. This was a young pair and which we’d not seen before. They were seen prospecting on the 3rd of May on the  island in front of Zeiss Hide. Sherbert was later seen sitting on a nest on the 9th of May surrounded by 21 Avocets, 34 Shelduck and an Oystercatcher. Incubation lasted between 28 and 31 days and if all the eggs hatched, it would be a bumper year for the reserve. I guess the Common Cranes were now here to stay after a 400 year absence. Kudos to the Great Crane Project.

Apart from Monty and Sedge, there were plenty of action from the breeding Black headed Gull. Amongst them was a pair of Mediterranean gulls but we couldn’t see them. Most of the Gulls were nesting on the islands outside the camera shop which was covered with vegetation. They provided cover for the chicks from the predators and the weather. The rest had to be contend with any available space to nest. The nests were usually a scrape in the ground or a pile of dead plant material. They laid 2-6 eggs and incubation lasted 22-26 days.

A pair of Lapwing already had 2 young on the back meadow and they were so well camouflaged, feeding along the mudflat. Several pairs of Avocets were pairing up and prospecting for nest sites around the lake. Their constant bickering were making some great viewing. Pair-bonds were maintained only for the duration of the breeding season and broke up by the time winter flocks arrived. The nest, built by both parents, was a shallow scrape on bare mud or in sparse vegetation, and was composed of short pieces of stems, roots, and leaves of marsh vegetation.

We were chuffed to bits when the long-staying hybrid swam quite close to the hide. He now had a partner, a female Wigeon. The hybrid, a Chloe X Eurasian Wigeon, was stunning with its green blue iridescent cap shimmering in the sun. They were busy dabbling for aquatic plants, grasses and roots. In winter, they will be joined by migrating family members flying in from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia and they will have an almighty party.

Then it was time to check the rest of the hide. As we were walking towards bridge, we stopped to check out this Swallow, the very epitome of summer, resting after a long journey from wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. The male swallow invariably arrived back first from migration, singing over his territory in the hope of attracting a mate. Females generally appeared a week to a fortnight later. Much folklore surrounds the swallow. To see the first swallow of the year was regarded as a good omen but this wasn’t the first swallow we had seen.

 

We only made a pit stop at Martin Smith Hide because the Tack piece was virtually empty. It was a very different place now than from winter. From thousands of duck, there were now left with just a single drake Wigeon, 42 Shelducks, 2 Shovelers, a dozen Greylags and a sleeping Egyptian goose. We continued on and as usual, Willow Hide was deserted. As we walked further down, Babe spotted a water vole seen from the holes in the fence between Willow hide and Knott hide. A Little Grebe, Reed buntings, Sedge and Reed warblers were also seen flitting sporadically. When  we went into Robbie Garnet Hide, we found out that we’d just missed a Great White Egret. The Midpoint summer walkway was also opened for the first time this year and although  it would be great to get out to the estuary again, we couldn’t make it.

We turned back into the grounds and checked Rushy Hide again. Sedge looked like she’d had not moved at all. We continued on walking along the boardwalk and were serenaded by hundreds of birds. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see them but below us, it was like walking into a creche. Moorhen chicks which looked like the ugliest little balls of "black fluff" were following their parents around, paddling frantically after them. They had black, downy feathers except round the eye and bill with scattered yellow down around the head. For a day or so the newly hatched chicks were fed on the nest with a parent brooding them most of the time.

But they soon ventured out onto the water. Moorhen fed their young rather than just leading them to where food is in the manner of ducks. From now on there was an endless procession of the 'minor' inhabitants of the pond and it surroundings brought to fill the ever demanding beaks. The summer air was full of the 'peeps' of hungry chicks. They fledged after 40-50 days, becoming independent a few weeks thereafter, and fingers-crossed raised their first brood the next spring. Meanwhile, the parents might raise another brood, using the same nest.

We stopped at South Lake to see if we could see Bart and Ruby from here. Unfortunately, they were well-hidden behind the tall reeds. We thought we could see them if we were at Hogarth Hide. On the walk there, we saw 2 Mute swans on nests. One near the Back to Brink section and the other by the path towards the Otters. The nests were huge mounds of material, comprised of dried grasses and assorted vegetation, sticks and rushes, constructed at the water's edge. These nests were built by the female, while the male supplied the materials. The female laid up to seven eggs between late April and early May. Both sexes incubated the eggs, which hatched after 35-41 days. All female swans feasted before nesting as they knew food was harder to come by once they were on the nest. It was normal for them to lose weight during the nesting period.

Then we headed back to Rushy Hide. Sedge had changed position but still sitting comfortably. The peaceful setting was broken when a Coot and a Moorhen had a huge fight. The Coot was the all-black and larger with a distinctive white beak and 'shield' above the beak which earned it the title 'bald'. Checkout its white feet with the distinctive lobed flaps of skin on the toes, acting in the same way as webbed feet when swimming. It often pattered noisily over the water before taking off and could be very aggressive towards others.

During the breeding season, vicious territorial fights occurred. Coots were sociable and noisy birds, often seen feeding together in flocks. They also often quarreled among themselves or with other species of waders. In the spring, they were very territorial birds who swam menacingly towards any intruders. They were often seen fighting with other birds species that included their cousin, the Moorhen. They raised the wings and body feathers to impress and scare away rivals.

On the other hand, Moorhens were solitary and shy birds, They were solitary feeders who foraged for food while walking on water plants, on the ground or sifting food from the surface of the water while swimming. These birds remained near vegetation and were not found in open water or diving. Moorhens had a nervous way of constantly jerking their heads and tails both on land and when swimming in the water. Their strong legs allowed them to swim or run for cover if alarmed.

Breeding pairs, who were monogamous, defended their territory against intruders and were far less timid than in other seasons of the year. Females often fought by kicking with their feet when competing for males. Males charged intruders who were near their nest with their head low in the water. Both Coots and Moorhen were territorial and when they met, there was violent and prolonged striking with feet clawing at the breast of each other, stabbing with the bill. Both birds spread and held back the wings in order to unbalance each other. We weren’t surprised to see the fiesty, smaller Moorhen winning the fight. We left as soon as we gave the winner a standing ovation.

We started the May bank holiday weekend with a visit to our first air-show of the year. We left the casa at 9.47 am and it was already 17.9C. It was predicted to be another scorching day and I was covered from head to toe with sun-cream. We’d cotton shirts and pants on to protect us from the sun. We drove along London Road past the recycling centre and there was a very long queue to enter the tip. When we were on the M40, we could see the spectacular 17th century Chesterton Windmill standing proud. We need to check it again. The rolling hills of Oxfordshire was stunning in the sunshine with fields of yellow rapeseed glittering in the sun.

Our destination was the Abingdon Air and Country Show, one of those great volunteer run shows that had proven to be a great day out. For once, the Bank Holiday weather was glorious and as a result, Abingdon attracted a bumper audience. There was already a long queue to get in as drivers were confused on which gate they’d to enter. Those with and without tickets entered different gates which was supposed to ease congestion but it never worked. We joined the hundreds who were already in, parked in a very dusty field. As we drove in, there were planes flying in. We were chuffed to bits when we found out that the car park was parallel to the airstrip. Woo…hoo. Those who arrived early had already marked their place with deck chairs, picnic tables, blankets and umbrellas.  But, there wasn’t any problem in finding our own personal space.

As the event name suggested, the ground shows felt very much like a local town show or country fair. Throughout the day there was live music from local bands and choirs, classic vehicles on show, pony rides, falconry, daleks and other sci-fi characters, a Williams F1 show car, stunt shows and steam engines. But they were situated at the further end of the field, away from the airstrip.The aviation element was split between a fly-in during the morning (which we unfortunately missed) and a three and half hour afternoon flying display. Like many events up and down the country in 2018, Abingdon took the RAF Centenary as its major theme. Abingdon was a perfect place for an event marking RAF100 as much of its history was tied to the Royal Air Force. 50 years ago it held the RAF’s 50^th Anniversary celebrations and Royal Review and throughout its lift was an important maintenance and transport base.

Amongst the highlights of the RAF100 fly-in were a de Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth, Fairchild Argus, Westland Gazelle HT3, BAC Jet Provost T3A, Beagle Husky, Slingsby Venture and Sedburgh gliders plus the Hurricane Heritage North American Harvard. The only current Royal Air Force type to be on show at Abingdon was a 47 Squadron Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules C4 from nearby RAF Brize Norton. The aircraft arrived on the morning of the show and was open to visitors throughout the afternoon. I was chuffed to have the opportunity to walk through the aircraft. At the end of the flying displays the aircraft departed for home, but not before performing a circuit and touch and go which we sadly missed because we left early.

[BAC Jet Provost T.3 G-BKOU]

[G-RUS (KK527) FairchildUC-61 Argus III]

The fly-in did not just involve historic RAF aircraft. There was a small collection of Austers, which was celebrating its own 80^th Anniversary. The Army co-operation theme also included a pair of Sud-Aviation Alouette IIs in Army Air Corps and Swiss Air Force markings plus a Max-Holste Broussard. Other fly-in highlights included a pair of Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk XI R PL965 home-builts and a pair of Boeing Stearman PT17 Kaydets as well as Terry Martin’s Westland Wasp HAS1. Supermarine Spitfire PR was designed to operate at high altitudes and was the fastest of all the Merlin powered Spitfires.

                                                             [Supermarine Spitfire PR]

The afternoon flying display was opened by the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flying three formation passes in front of the crowds. The formation consisted of Avro Lancaster B1 PA474, Hawker Hurricane IIC LF363 and the repainted Supermarine Spitfire XVI TE311 which appeared precisely on time having joined up to the north of the airfield. To complete their flypasts they performed a lovely curved pass just about showing the top surfaces of their wings with a Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules. PA 474, a heavy bomber was one of only two Lancasters in flying condition in the world and to see it above us was awesome. It was announced that with ongoing maintenance, it should be airworthy until 2065.

The first debut of the afternoon came from Peter Borchet with his new biplane Pitts Model 12 dubbed “The Super Pitts.” The Pitts Model 12 was the ultimate development of the Pitts family of aerobatic biplanes. It was the last aircraft designed by Curtis Pitts in 1995 and combined the classic aerobatic biplane formula with the brutish Russian made Vedeneyev M14P/PF radial engine usually found in Sukhoi aerobatic aircraft. The aircraft, nicknamed ‘Bolshoi’, ‘Macho Stinker’ or ‘Pitts Monster’, could be built from plans or as a kit plane. Peter had only finished his aircraft last year and Abingdon was its first airshow appearance

The Army Air Corps Historic Aircraft Flight Trust made a welcome return to Abingdon with the de Havilland Canada Beaver AL1 and the Taylorcraft Auster AOP9. Both aircraft demonstrated their abilities to operate out of short strips and to flying within very small areas. Formed initially in 1980. and in its current guise since March 1990, the Trust had been allowed to maintain one example of each aircraft operated since the Army Air Corps (AAC) inception in 1957, in order to preserve the AAC’s aviation heritage.

[Taylorcraft Auster 5 TW 519]

[de Havilland Canada Beaver AL1]

More aerobatics followed with a display of a former military training aircraft, the Slingsby T67M Firefly. The Firefly was part of the RAF100 story having been used by all three services as an elementary trainer operated by Hunting and then Babcock. The aircraft, from a Redhill based syndicate, was flown through a very elegant sequence of aerobatics by Rod Dean who had also flown as part of the RAF 50^th Anniversary celebrations held at Abingdon in 1968. He was having fun turning the aircraft upside down pretending to be Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

The Royal British Legion’s Jump4Heroes Parachute Display Team provided a short break from the aircraft displays jumping from an Antonov An-2. The team were joined by members of the Royal Air Forces Association parachute team and even included a wingsuit demonstration during their jump. The Army Parachute Display team were made up of the Red Devils, The Tigers Freefall, The Royal Logistics Corps Silver Stars and The Lightning Bolts. For the first time in 2018, the four teams came together for the Royal British Legion.

The only jet aircraft in the flying display was Mark Petrie’s BAC Strikemaster Mk82a G-SOAF. ‘AF is a firm favourite on the display circuit representing the ultimate development of the Jet Provost design. Over the winter Mark has repainted ‘AF into the distinctive two-tone camouflage scheme worn by Sultan of Oman Air Force Strikemasters. It was a significant display for the UK air display circuit too as it was the first public aerobatic display by a civilian owned ex-military jet over land since late 2015. Restrictions on straight wing jets were lifted by the Civil Aviation Authority earlier this year.  A pity that the RAF had replaced it with the British Aerospace hawk. Today, surviving Strikemasters were in private hands and were in the care of enthusiasts and museum group.

The Cold War theme was continued later in the flying programme was the Gazelle Squadron’s solo Westland Gazelle/Aerospatial HT2 flown by Andy Moorhouse. For airshow enthusists, the sight of a red and white Royal Navy Gazelle was a nostalgic one with memories of some great display teams such as Pusser’s Pair and the Sharks. It was the first helicopter to feature a fenestron tail instead of a conventional tail rotor. With the exception of the DeHavilland Chipmunk, the Gazelle was the only aircraft to serve with all three arms of the British armed forces.

Rich Goodwin had returned to Abingdon with his amazing highly modified Pitts S-2S Special G-EWIZ. He opened and closed his display with incredible low passes in formation with a Jaguar F-Pace driven by Chris Woodward, the chief executive of Rich’s main sponsor Anana. The main routine of Muscle Biplane aerobatics was simply “the show” of the show. He vowed the audience with high energy aerobatic manoeuvres. The aircraft extensive modification programme had given this biplane enhanced capabilities, allowing it to perform a unique and extraordinary brand of aerobatics. There were double-hammerheads, high-alpha knife-edge flypasts and the amazing ‘Tower of Power’ to complete torque rolls whilst flying backwards through its own smoke.

It was piston powered warbirds that were the star turn at Abingdon this year. It was good to see Abingdon regulars such as Peter Teichman and his Supermarine Spitfire PRXI and Plane Sailing’s Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina back at the show. Supermarine Spitfire PR MK XI serial number PL965 was built as a PR MK XI photo reconnaissance craft and left the Aldermaston factory in mid 1944. She proudly wore the identifying code ‘R’ for Robert. After serving all over Europe and becoming an exhibit at the Dutch War Museum in Overtoon for 27 years, she returned to the UK in 1987 to be restored to her airworthy status. Since becoming part of the Hangar  11 Collection, this extremely rare and unusual example of a Spitfire was a welcome sight at air displays and special events across Europe.

[Supermarine Spitfire PRXI]

I also had my first sighting of the Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War 2. It was used in anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, convoy escort, search and rescue missions and cargo transport. The designation ‘PBY’ was determined in accordance with the US Navy aircraft designation system of 1922; PB representing ‘Patrol Bomber’ and Y being the code assigned to Consolidated Aircraft as its manufacturer. The aircraft bore the name Catalina after Catalina Island coined in November 1941 as Great Britain ordered the first 30 aircraft. Catalina airmen called their aircraft ‘Cat’ on combat missions and ‘Dumbo’ in air-sea rescue service. It sounded amazing when it took off quite close to where we were standing.

[Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina]

The Beech Model 18 (C-45 Expeditor) gave a very punchy routine for a twin engine transport aircraft. Known variously as the Model 18, Twin beech, C45 and Expeditor, this iconic aircraft made its maiden flight from Beechcraft’s Wichita, Kansas plant on 15th January 1937. With a maximum all-up weight of almost 4 tons, a wingspan of 14.5 metres and two 450hp engines, it definitely qualified as a ‘big taildragger’.

[Beech Model 18 (C-45 Expeditor)]

The star act of the show was the Supermarine Spitfire IXT ML407 and Hispano HA1112-M4L Buchon Red 11 from Air Leasing Ltd. ML407 needed little introduction. Simply known as “The Grace Spitfire” ML407 flew 320 combat hours during WW2 and shot down the first Luftwaffe aircraft on the 6th June D-Day Landings. It was originally built at Castle Bromwich in 1944 as a Mark IX single seat fighter  and served in the frontline of battle throughout the last 12 months of WW2 with 6 different allied Squadrons of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force. Both pilots had put on a very nice “dogfight” tail-chase display for the Abingdon crowd.

.

Supermarine Spitfire IXT ML407

The HA1112-M4L Buchon was one of those warbirds making its public display debut at Abingdon. It was a very rare two seater version of the Spanish Buchon powered by a Rolls Royce Merlin engine. It was one of a fleet of Buchons used during the filming of the movie “Battle of Britain” and was mainly used as a camera-ship. On completion of filming it was given to Wilson ‘Connie’ Edwards as payment for his flying services during filming. When Edwards sold his collection and was bought by an Australian customer. It was brought to the UK for restoration by Air Leasing at Sywell. It flew again in late 2017 repainted in the colours of “Red 11” from the Battle of Britain movie. The only change to the original configuration had been the replacement of the Bubble canopy with a framed canopy much like the two-seat Bf109s flown by the Luftwaffe in the Second World War. This provided more protection for the pilot and passenger. 

[Hispano HA1112-M4L Buchon]

While Babe was busy with the radio controlled models from Classic Jets, I ventured into the showground to find a toilet. I walked past a long queue waiting to walk through the Hercules. Thankfully, by the time I returned, it was much shorter and I joined the queue to check it out. Before that, in the showground there were impressive static line-up, various trades and exhibit stalls, ex-military vehicles, miniature steam engines, amusement arcades, falconry demonstration, tank rides, classic vehicles, helicopter pleasure flights, food stalls and musical entertainment. I gave them a miss as it was getting so hot and I don’t want Babe to think that I’d abandoned him.

Unfortunately after the walkabout, I got heat stroke and sat in the car with the air-conditioned on. Although I’m from a tropical country, this heat don’t agree with me at all. Babe drove the car closer to the air-strip (as a lot of people had left) to keep an eye on me and also I was able to see the action from the comfort of the car. Thanks, Babe. In between runs, we’d a picnic in the car with our usual cheese and onion pasties, chicken sandwiches all washed down with hot coffee. We made sure we drank lots of water, which was nicely chilled from the cooler box.

Apart from the amazing aircrafts whizzing past, we were also entertained by a Red Kite soaring over us. Once a very rare bird that could only be found in Central wales, it had been successfully reintroduced to several areas of the UK. Its distinctive shape with angled, red wings that was tipped with black and had white patches underneath in the ‘hand’, including a long, reddish-brown, forked tail. The ‘mewing’ calls echoed around us. It was constantly being mobbed by a flock of crows, chasing it off.

There were also a few ‘toys’ on show. Among them was this Cosmic Aviation Eurostar microlight G-CDTA. it was an ultralight aircraft designed for sport/leisure flying, touring and training with limitation to non-aerobatic VFR operations. It was aerodynamically controlled, single-engine, two-seat, low-wing, all metal plane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage and controllable nose wheel. It could be flown on a microlight license which meant pilots needed less training, a lot less money and an easier medical than required to fly Group A aircraft. Now where can I get a £35K loan

[Cosmik Aviation Eurostar microlight G_CDTA]

Fantastic weather, a bumper crowd and superb flying made for a very fabulous start to the season at Abingdon. Although, the weather was hot and sunny, shooting into the sun was tricky as there were lots of heat shimmer. It was also very challenging in the afternoon with the sun being in front of the crowd line. Kudos to Neil Porter and his team for doing a sterling work over the year to put on the event and raising money for charity. The event had raised nearly £90,000 for a good cause. Next year will hopefully be a special one as the event celebrated its 20^th staging and we hoped to be there!