Arcticterntalk.org
The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world
Archive for the tag “folly”
The Animals of Farthing Wood go down to Painshill Park Cobham
A grey day but some of the creatures came out to play
A grebe and a fish
A goose with a wish
A ruined abbey at the end of the day
A swan who dribbles
A goose what quibbles
And a fish that had had its say
Flooding at Painshill Park Cobham
For those who have never been there this is an amazing park for walks in all seasons. Flooding has however taken its toll on some of the land. In all but one of these photos there should be no water at all.
A Dead Swan at Painshill Park. Why do Cygnets die?
Painshill Park is an amazing park in Surrey near Cobham just off Junction 10 of the M25 and well worth a visit. We have been regular visitors now for over 10 years but yesterday saw a sad sight of a dead swan, cygnet really. No clear reason why it had died, no injuries visible, weather no worse than normal .Just sad really. The swan was lying near the top of the main lake not far from the Ruined Abbey and plenty of other Swans and Cygnets were swimming around.
I did a little research to find out maybe what might have happened. Swans firstly tend to have few real predators except when young. New born cygnets are mainly lost to crows, herons, magpies, turtles, pike and large perch. Both cygnets and full-grown swans are also the prey of foxes and mink. Other dangers include vandalism, pollution, dogs and various poisonings. Who knows what happened to our cygnet?
The Daily Mail however do have an online story of interest. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-454255/Mystery-heartbreak-seven-cygnets-vanish-one.html
Seven cygnets have vanished without trace in a week from Cheltenham. The rangers report that the last time they indeed lost a cygnet of this age was in 1991. So the death of our cygnet is unusual. Other trawling of websites suggested this:
The cygnets may have picked up something on the migratory pattern, i.e., lead poisoning, botulism (although most of the time, it would be a more immediate death (within 24 hours if botulism is the culprit). Do the cygnets look like they have lost muscle (neck) control? Are they exuding a thick saliva from their mouths and exhibiting convulsions prior to their demise? These questions would lead to some type of poisoning.
Painting of Gothic tower at Painshill Park
Painshill Park is a wonderful park in surrey near Cobham, with lakes and beautiful walks. It was built with a number of follies around 250 years ago created by Charles Hamilton between 1738-1773. One of the follies is the Gothic tower which is on the edge of the A3. If one were an estate agent one might describe it as a tower with good access to pylons. these are not really paintings but my attempt to create a photographic painting through a little manipulation here and there.
Painting of Gothic Tower at Painshill Park by chris Bushe
A Great Place
The rants and warblings of an active and some would say disturbed mind. A Brentford Fc supporter and a psychiatrist and photographer. Welcome to my musings and rants.
chris1957