Tuesday 7th June (Bongo Drums on The Confluence)

Mr. Kite looked out of The Joint window on a sunny morning with the trees waving gently in the breeze. Today Mr. Kite was cycling to find The Confluence of the Loue and Doubs. With his out of date map Mr. Kite decided to find The Confluence the difficult route; from the other side of the rivers.

So Mr. Kite cycled along the roads to Rahon with Chaffinch singing and the occasional Chiffchaff. At the end of the village Mr. Kite then pedaled down a track towards The Confluence. Now the end was never in sight as Mr. Kite cycled over down more tracks and unpaved roads and more tracks and under disused railway bridges until the tracks moved away from the trees that line the river. At this point Mr. Kite changed his plan and returned to Rahon stopping to watch Red-backed Shrike, Stonechats and Common Buzzards.

Trying a few more tracks Mr. Kite eventually came to a road that was tarmaced but had the sign, ‘route barre’; so Mr. Kite cycled down this traffic free road listening to warblers. A mile down the road Mr. Kite stopped to allow a Grass Snake to cross the road in front of him. Soon Mr. Kite reached The Wall that barred the route across the river. Now Mr. Kite climbed on The Wall and walk onto the bridge over the river. With egrets flying around Mr. Kite looked up stream for The Confluence and downstream for The Confluence. Mr. Kite worked out that The Confluence was upstream so he pedaled back along the road and explored track leading to the river. In the thick and dense undergrowth Mr. Kite had fleeting glimpses of birds but not long enough to identify them.

Mr. Kite found the foundations of a new barrage to control the water during flooding of the Loue and Doubs but not The Confluence. However the area was interesting and had ‘potential’. Following more tracks along the rive Mr. Kite looked through thick woodland for The Confluence but could not be sure. So towards the end of the afternoon Mr. Kite pedaled back to Parcey.

In the sweltering heat Mr. Kite stopped on the campsite to put on his slinky bathers and had a swim in the pool. After a long cool break Mr. Kite set out to find The Confluence the easy way. So he headed along the road past the Golf Club until a sign pointing to The Confluence. After a thirty metre walk Mr. Kite was putting his toe into the water of the Loue and Doubs as a Bongo Drum player beat out a jungle beat a few metres away.

With the sound of water and Bongo Drums Mr. Kite was happy to have reached page 64; although the bird life was quiet. Mr. Kite then returned to The Joint for a tipple of Leffe Blond. Cheers from Mr. Kite.