Bittern And The Beast

The bittern was fleeting. It flew up out of the reeds while we were chatting to a lovely man, who was sitting on a bench just taking it all in, on the way round the small lake. By the time I'd registered it, remarked on it and considered taking a photo, it was back in the reeds.

So instead, this is Oddball - she's now a permanent monument to the sunshine miners who worked the opencast mines. Like something from War Of The Worlds and very impressive to stand underneath. 

She was a walking dragline excavator which the opencast miners used here between 1974 and 1988 until the supports on the River Aire, which were diverting water to be able to mine, gave way.  No-one died and Oddball (along with all the miners) managed to walk out and away unscathed. It took ten years to re-divert, secure and start mining again. I wonder if it was worth it for the four extra years it was mined for.

I'm guessing without the mine, the reserve at RSPB St Aidan's wouldn't exist as it'd be filled with housing by now. It's a lovely spot.