October 7th - Day 141 (140.5) - A siege a sedge or a hedge?

Before I get carried away with collective nouns and today’s picture, I realised I never explained why there was no blog on Tuesday 5th. It wasn’t just the weather forecast and the flood warning but that I was due to give a talk to All Saints, Ecclesall, Mother’s Union in the afternoon. I decided that turning up there on my bike, soggy and dripping, though perhaps increasing sympathy, would not do anything for my professional look - or the state of the church floor. I decided, therefore, to take the easy option and arrive to work that day by car, hoping that extending the challenge by a further day will still mean I finish before the clocks go back. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and very generous in the donations they gave to Sponsor a Spin and the Centre and I have to say, I love talking about the Centre and what we do - and it is easy to feel very proud of all the staff, volunteers and clients.

Anyway, to explain today’s picture and title - I suddenly noticed that there were five herons together in a field this morning. Given, I presumed herons were solitary birds, this was a bit of a surprise. Of course, they decided to fly a bit when I stopped so I could only pick up two in the photograph. This made me wonder what the collective noun for herons is, given that birds and animals often have interesting ones. Apparently it is a siege, a sedge or a hedge of herons. If you are a small rodent in a field or a fish in a pond or river, the siege of herons, seems very apt, as does the sedge linking the herons to the sedge and reeds of the wetlands. I have to say, I’m not sure about hedge though - apart from the way they stand tall. Any suggestions?