A rather cold day but enjoyable nonetheless! A general run around Loch Indaal produced no surprises, although the usual array of species was present, except in reduced numbers. Surface feeding duck were exploiting all sorts of odd corners not too badly affected by the freezing conditions. Barnacle Geese were gathered out on the mudflats after roosting all day following night feeding under the moon. As darkness fell a tranquility and peace descended over the loch that , hopefully, will be a general feature in out troubled world during the oncoming year.
As we reached home the moon lit up the whole landscape with suffused illumination. This Full Moon was significant in that it was the second to occur within the month......the fabled Blue Moon. The first had occurred on the 2nd December and this one, following the 29.5 day lunar cycle, appeared to grace the end of one year and the begining of the next! The name is wholly artificial in that it is never associated with colour at all ,but was simply adopted and is now used
to describe any second full moon occurring within a given single month. The cycle makes the phenomenon just possible and it occurs in some month about every 2.5 years! The next to occur at the very end of a year will, however, not be visible until 2028!!
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