As the church bell indicates the next half hour and then strikes the following full hour that passes of the current year the countdown has begun to ushering in the new. Today, a brief hour of fishing on a canal resulted in no takes but we had sight of a fantastic bird of prey, a large Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus). It had a plaintive, shrill ‘kweeoo’ and flew gracefully low to the ground then up to its next perch, its dark brown plumage and agility reminded me of the Merlin of the skies of the 40’s. The bird was a female, she kept low to the ground with her head to one side with an eager eye on the reed beds below.
As the light faded and the damp evening air set in we packed up and headed home, the sense of the new year celebrations took over and the enticing thought of a warm meal and some fine red wine made sure the rods were packed into the car and no ‘last cast’ syndrome set in. I wish you all a happy new year and many tight lines.
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