The day of the Floods !!

The day of the floods I went up the coast  having checked the flash at Lynemouth in the horse field ,  next stop at Cresswell  the water levels not too high but nothing like what they used to be in the past , a pair of Avocet still at the north end but nothing on the sand bank , Druridge water level very high no shore here at all a Tufted Duck with brood  by the main hide and my first Black Headed Gull of the year flew over , a Long Eared Owl sat on a post opposite till it was harried by a crow , plenty of  Pardosa  spiders ( Wolf Spiders)on the boardwalk  there are a number of species so that is how they will remain grouped into Wolf Spiders. Single Red Admiral on the Vipers Bugloss also some Betony in flower. Last call East Chevington  both  male and female Marsh harriers on show and a Cuckoo flew across the South pool the plan was to hang around and go look for the Cuckoos at the south end  or a walk in the dunes and then onto the shore at the outfall. It was getting a bit dull so I thought perhaps I should wait till the shower passed over ,standing up on one of the platforms  looking East it became very dark  a bit like Africa when it just goes from day to night looking at the heavy cloud coming towards me you could see the rain falling on the pond but not yet on me then suddenly the first few drops hit and before I could reach the car just 3-4 yds away I was soaked the the full force of the deluge hit the car hammering on the roof , added with the thunder and lightening which seemed all around , I though should have gone home , all I could do was wait it out turned the radio up full to drown out the rain and thunder and just waited . finally it eased when I looked up the road it was just a river heading back out I tried to think are there any dips in this road where it could be very deep ,I just kept on steady only stopping to get a snap of two Mallards that had dropped on the road . The rest of the drive home was pretty uneventful ,water was gushing down the drive at home and the garage was flooded slightly , not till later seeing the news did I realise just how bad it had been , I had got off very easy. My sympathies to those that are still suffering from the floods.   

 Young Tufted Duck they won't last long out in the open like this

 First Juvenile Black Headed Gull of the year

 Pardosa  Wolf Spiders male on the left female with egg sac on the right

 Even this Red Admiral is looking a bit worn

East Chevington looking S/east  the sky Daaaarkens !

 This is the track out of Chevington at the bend two Mallards discover a new home , and I test my car and driving !

"What do think dear looks OK to me "