Friday, October 08, 2010

Promontory (noun) prä-mən-ˌtȯr-ē...

 AND it almost sounds the same...

Promontory (noun) prä-mən-ˌtȯr-ē...
DEFINITION
1 a : a high point of land or rock projecting into a body of water b : a prominent mass of land overlooking or projecting into a lowland c: a pointy bit of land that funnels in small stuff.

Well, all things are I guess relative. It's not THAT high, nor THAT prominent, but the little pointy wedge of land sandwiched between Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey at Halfway House IS beginning to look a bit special. This 100 yards or so of bank decked with scattered trees and bushes ends by the willow tree alongside which I sit and really does seem to be a bit of a magnet for small stuff. So much so, that I have decided to give it its own name - The Prom. It's the narrowest point on the patch, about a dozen yards, give or take, between river water and canal water and behaves just like a miniature headland, funneling stuff in as it works westward, or sucking stuff towards it as it works eastward. It's where the Cetti's Warbler was found, where last months Common Redstart was found and a host of other flitty bits from Treecreeper to Lesser Whitethroat. From Yellow-browed Warbler to Blackpoll Warbler. No. Hang on. That bit was just a premonition. BUT, stuff loves this bit of the patch and so as of now, I fully intend to grill it whenever I can.
A toast! To THE PROM! God bless her and all who hail in her!!

7 comments:

  1. Wow that picture nearly got me switching on my sat nav for Runcorn. Useless information -
    "This bird was named after officials in the Roman Catholic Church known as the protonotarii, who wore golden robes."

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  2. LOL soz bout that :) Interesting 'trivia' tho, I did not know that about the robes! Gorgeous birds - PWs! Lucky enough to catch a few in Florida last time I was there.

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  3. email from WBC today concerning model plane club - result - planning application withdrawn !

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  4. My Dad (Colin, god bless him) used to call 'The Prom'...Randall's Sluices, do a google on that its awesome dude. Good luck with the new name, why not I say.
    ps bloody marvellous news about the plastic pilots what!..well played. We could do with someone like yourselve at Neumann's to sort out the none proactive CCC Ranger(s), joggers, pram pushers etc...

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  5. Ah now, that's interesting - didn't realise the name applied to the HWH side of the canal. Thought Randall's Sluice was the bit over the other side of the canal where the water comes in. Doh! Tiz good news about the planes though, but truth be told woz a team effort - peeps really rallied around and got stuck in. As for Neumann's I have a theory... I reckon yer joggers n pram pushers actually ATTRACT birds. You lot always get the good stuff!!!

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  6. Cheers Steve, Yeah got one too. Only just got back on here - crazy busy. Good news eh ;)

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  7. Thanks for the interesting bits on the birds and the habitat. You're fortunate to see so many in one place. We occasionally see them coming and/or going during their migrations, and not always reliably.

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