On Thursday night I got a message on my telephone asking me the time of the summer solstice. I was able to tell them that it would be 5.39pm BST on Sunday 21 June, which of course is today. Amazing to think that the sun has reached its most northerly point for 2015 and it will be moving south as from today.
The person who rang me was not the person who wanted the information but they did so on the grounds that I was likely to be able to supply an immediate answer. They were genuinely surprised to learn that the summer solstice could take place from 20th to 22nd June (19 June in 2488 but none of us are likely to be alive by then).
For summer solstice see here
The remarkable thing was that the next day (Friday 19 June) I ran into the person who wanted this information on three separate occasions even though I rarely meet them. Coincidence eh?
Then as I came to write this another quite strange coincidence happened. Last year as many of you will know there was a great osprey saga in Nelson Canada. The day before yesterday a chick was hatched on the the Nelson nest.
Now someone pointed out that this chick was hatched on the death of Nelson. Immediately I thought ....never Nelson died at Trafalgar on 21st October. Maybe they are thinking of Waterloo (18 June)
But of course they were talking of dear old Nelson the osprey who died on 19 June 2014.
So why so many coincidences? I guess that is because we only got 366 dates and then things repeat themselves.
So how long before Odin and EJ start to chase the sun south? I would say 60 days at maximum, just over 8 weeks.
Tiger Signature
Thanks again, TIGER.
I checked out the messy nest - it was perfectly tidy when the camperson left it to watch EJ and Odin in the Love Tree, and when the cam returned to the nest 6 minutes later, there was the mess of sticks... which is still there.
IMAGICAT
many thanks Tiger for starting the DU.
All is very quiet on the untidy nest
"Birds are, quite simply, little miracles - and as such they require care and consideration."
Magnus Ullman
My Flickr account is here
Getting lighter. No sight nor sound of anyone yet.
Oops! Didn't see you there, LIMPY, so I have removed my superfluous pic of the nest and the slightly lightening sky ;-)
Cuckoo :-)
DAYCAM 0354hr:
I wonder if it's raining lightly.
A small bird "whistling", short whistles, a twite? That's the first bird sound I've noticed!
Not at all sure that was a twite - the RSPB recording has a lot more chatter in it.
I've been right thru the recordings since midnight, to make sure I haven't missed our darlings on the nest - nope, they have not been here. Obviously I can't check for sound ;-)
Chaffinch!