Turtle Dove

We're having a few days of Indian Summer, and as the sun was still shining this evening, I headed out to Etton-Maxey Pits in search of Turtle Doves. 

The Langdyke Trust, who manage the site, have been providing a specially designed supplementary seed mix, as part of Operation Turtle Dove, which aims to improve the productivity of this declining species. It certainly seems to have worked because the local birds have raised two broods, and in recent days up to a dozen birds have been seen feeding in the concrete car-park area next to the road. Tonight I felt very privileged to watch at least eight birds feeding in the soft evening light, undeterred by the noise of the combine harvester and tractor in the adjacent field.

This is the first time I've successfully managed to photograph Turtle Doves, so seemed an appropriate image to celebrate having posted eight years worth of blips. I must admit that I feel a bit of a fraud, as I still have large gaps in my journal from earlier in the summer, including ones from my time in Romania and Scotland, so really this landmark has little significance! 

In the last couple of months I've questioned whether I should continue blipping - my life seems to have become so busy in recent years, particularly in the summer. But I still enjoy browsing everyone's journals when I have the time, and find my posts a useful reminder of how the seasons vary from year to year and what I've been up to. The longest time I'd ever kept a diary before Blipfoto was about a month, so I'm quite flabbergasted that I'm still finding things to say after eight years (even if there are a few gaps).

Thanks to everyone who still drops by - it means a lot to me to know that people still enjoy  my contributions, even if I'm not always very communicative in return!