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Sussex Scrapbook ~ Wildlife walks throughout the year
Green Man
Saturday 11th February 2012
Billingshurst - Pulborough
9 miles

This walk started off with raised voices - well mine actually! While Gill was using the toilet at Billingshurst station I made my way over to the shop to get some 'emergency' chocolate. Suddenly a driving instructor came motoring over the level crossing and past the shop with his head down busily tapping away on his phone: I couldn't believe it. A few minutes later I saw him coming back down the road and so I stepped out and with a raised arm I pulled him to a stop. I demanded to know if he taught his students to do that too and then went on to let him know that I thought he was an absolute disgrace!
We then had a beautiful but bitingly cold walk on snow and ice along the Wey and Arun Canal on the Wey South Path. Despite the terrible conditions of late we spotted 34 species of bird including 2 Snipe, a Bullfinch, a Goldcrest, lots of Treecreepers, Lapwing, Fieldfares and Redwing. The sky and the trees seemed permanently full of flocks and birdsong so hopefully this cold spell has not been as devastating to the avian population as the past few winters have been.
I'm in the process of updating our tattered, torn, burnt and bitten old collection of Sussex OS maps to the new indestructible and waterproof Active maps. It's just as well too as we found that our map of this area was completely out of date and the route of the Wey South Path had changed considerably since we bought our map... in 1999!


The theme of the day was ... ICE.


Redwing


A Highland Cow with the largest horns we've ever seen on one!


I think there be rabbits in these parts!


Hoar frost on the planking at Lordings Lock.


Icy Teasel.


The canal was completely frozen over with tiny footprints printed across it.


A very bright, sunny day - perfect for walking. That's Toat Monument prominent in the distance.


Gill liked this gate fastener because it was rusty and shiny. So I made up a new word for her - shusty!


A 'shusty' Beech hedge at Sheepwash Farm. Almost the same colour as the fox we saw a few minutes later.

 

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