Monday 1 October 2012

Coast to Coast - Ducks DeLux

The first of the month was a day for prioritising, would it be the Dogs, Chickens, Bird Feeders or the Mandarins, with a 'formality' October Tick in prospect, No Contest! How long have I been doing this? What does a 'guarenteed bird look like? Needless to say not a sign of either of the Ducks despite repeated return visits to the pond. With the afore mentioned fed and watered, surely there would be a new Moth in the trap for the property, after all the list only amounts to 5 species so the chances were good.
Before even opening the trap, there perched on the wall was one of my absolute favourites of the Insect world a
CANARY-SHOULDERED THORN, what a beauty!


Far more common and a lot less striking is the SILVER Y
but as a 'newcomer' most welcome. In addition among the c7 specimens this morning was Lesser Yellow Underwing, but identification may now get tricky as I have left the Field Guide at home.
Pis-cipitating down all morning there was little chance of any wild-lifing save frequent visits to the pond, so just as well there was plenty to do via the business diary. All of this has left little option but to re-visit the archive, and on the subject of Ducks (there's still a chance, it ain't dark yet) here are a selection from around the world some of which have graced our shores.
FALKLAND ISLAND STEAMER DUCK (male).
HARLEQUIN DUCK (male Japan) a very rare visitor to Great Britain.
LONG-TAILED DUCKs in Barrow Alaska - good numbers seen in UK annually.
MADAGASCAR POCHARD, close to extinction but gathering progress in captive breeding. I believe I read somewhere that c29 birds were released to the wild last year.
PACIFIC BLACK DUCK - Australia and not recorded in GB.
RED-CRESTED POCHARD on the GB List.
WHITE-FACED WHISTLING DUCK
CAROLINA WOOD DUCK, despite numerous records the British Birds Rarity Committee have not yet accepted this 'in a truly wild state' to the GB List.
YELLOW-BILLED DUCK

PEKING DUCK - in a Chinese Restaurant near you now!
From Paul Harris, who has just spent the week-end in London, come these 2 new Banksy art-works.

Paul tells me they are both on view in Shoreditch and as they are almost the size of the buildings they are depicted on, are difficult to overlook. Thanks Bomber!
Another satisfactory month on the Stat Counter saw the USA broach the 8,000 mark and Estonia join the ranks of 4 figures. Slovakia, Croatia and Chile still struggle to reach the 'ton', while due to the efforts of our friend Syenny Lee the readership in Taiwan has increased by 30. No new country appeared on the radar during the month, no surprisingly as the total currently stands at 173, but we continue to live in hope.
It would be greatly appreciated if all readers could pass on the link to Friends and Family - Thank You!



NumPerc.Country Name
drill down7579071.68%United KingdomUnited Kingdom
drill down80017.57%United StatesUnited States
drill down13871.31%CanadaCanada
drill down11871.12%AustraliaAustralia
drill down11011.04%GermanyGermany
drill down10330.98%FranceFrance
drill down10180.96%EstoniaEstonia
drill down9650.91%NetherlandsNetherlands
drill down9530.90%JapanJapan
drill down7920.75%ItalyItaly
drill down7340.69%IndiaIndia
drill down7010.66%New ZealandNew Zealand
drill down6680.63%SpainSpain
drill down6570.62%PhilippinesPhilippines
drill down5350.51%TaiwanTaiwan
drill down5150.49%BrazilBrazil
drill down4590.43%Korea, Republic OfKorea, Republic Of
drill down4230.40%SwedenSweden
drill down3930.37%PolandPoland
drill down3710.35%ThailandThailand
drill down3520.33%BelgiumBelgium
drill down3320.31%NorwayNorway
drill down3170.30%Russian FederationRussian Federation
drill down3040.29%SwitzerlandSwitzerland
drill down2470.23%IrelandIreland
drill down2450.23%RomaniaRomania
drill down2370.22%South AfricaSouth Africa
drill down2340.22%TurkeyTurkey
drill down2260.21%MalaysiaMalaysia
drill down2260.21%MexicoMexico
drill down2190.21%PeruPeru
drill down2150.20%FinlandFinland
drill down2080.20%IndonesiaIndonesia
drill down1910.18%GreeceGreece
drill down1700.16%ArgentinaArgentina
drill down1680.16%Czech RepublicCzech Republic
drill down1660.16%PortugalPortugal
drill down1610.15%ColombiaColombia
drill down1590.15%DenmarkDenmark
drill down1490.14%HungaryHungary
drill down1420.13%SingaporeSingapore
drill down1400.13%IsraelIsrael
drill down1380.13%Sri LankaSri Lanka
drill down1350.13%PakistanPakistan
drill down1310.12%Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
drill down1230.12%UkraineUkraine
drill down1200.11%United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates
drill down1160.11%Hong KongHong Kong
drill down1130.11%BulgariaBulgaria
drill down1100.10%VietnamVietnam
drill down930.09%SlovakiaSlovakia
drill down900.09%CroatiaCroatia
drill down900.09%ChileChile
drill down820.08%AustriaAustria
drill down780.07%OmanOman
drill down740.07%Costa RicaCosta Rica
drill down690.07%Anonymous ProxyAnonymous Proxy
drill down680.06%SerbiaSerbia
drill down640.06%VenezuelaVenezuela
drill down600.06%EuropeEurope
drill down580.05%MaltaMalta
drill down580.05%LithuaniaLithuania
drill down570.05%EgyptEgypt
drill down560.05%El SalvadorEl Salvador
drill down520.05%EcuadorEcuador
drill down510.05%MadagascarMadagascar
drill down470.04%BangladeshBangladesh
drill down440.04%QatarQatar
drill down390.04%Palestinian TerritoryPalestinian Territory
drill down370.03%Asia/pacific RegionAsia/pacific Region
drill down340.03%SloveniaSlovenia
drill down330.03%LuxembourgLuxembourg
drill down320.03%

drill down300.03%GeorgiaGeorgia
drill down280.03%IraqIraq
drill down280.03%GuatemalaGuatemala
drill down270.03%MoroccoMorocco
drill down260.02%Trinidad And TobagoTrinidad And Tobago
drill down260.02%MongoliaMongolia
drill down250.02%GuernseyGuernsey
drill down250.02%Satellite ProviderSatellite Provider
drill down240.02%LebanonLebanon
drill down230.02%LatviaLatvia
drill down220.02%Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
drill down220.02%MacedoniaMacedonia
drill down210.02%KuwaitKuwait
drill down210.02%BelarusBelarus
drill down210.02%JamaicaJamaica
drill down200.02%YemenYemen
drill down200.02%Lao People's Democratic RepublicLao People's Democratic Republic
drill down190.02%CyprusCyprus
drill down180.02%JerseyJersey
drill down180.02%KenyaKenya
drill down170.02%CambodiaCambodia
drill down150.01%Isle Of ManIsle Of Man
drill down140.01%BelizeBelize
drill down120.01%ArmeniaArmenia
drill down120.01%BermudaBermuda
drill down120.01%MaldivesMaldives
drill down120.01%JordanJordan
drill down110.01%AlgeriaAlgeria
drill down110.01%MontenegroMontenegro
drill down110.01%GibraltarGibraltar
drill down100.01%AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
drill down100.01%NigeriaNigeria
drill down100.01%Moldova, Republic OfMoldova, Republic Of
drill down100.01%TunisiaTunisia
drill down90.01%UruguayUruguay
drill down90.01%NamibiaNamibia
drill down90.01%PanamaPanama
drill down90.01%BahrainBahrain
drill down90.01%ReunionReunion
drill down80.01%Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
drill down80.01%Virgin Island, U.s.Virgin Island, U.s.
drill down80.01%Tanzania, United Republic OfTanzania, United Republic Of
drill down80.01%ChinaChina
drill down70.01%ZimbabweZimbabwe
drill down70.01%MauritiusMauritius
drill down70.01%Bosnia And HerzegovinaBosnia And Herzegovina
drill down70.01%ArubaAruba
drill down70.01%NepalNepal
drill down70.01%HondurasHonduras
drill down70.01%IcelandIceland
drill down60.01%Brunei DarussalamBrunei Darussalam
drill down60.01%Netherlands AntillesNetherlands Antilles
drill down60.01%New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
drill down50.00%BhutanBhutan
drill down50.00%AlbaniaAlbania
drill down50.00%BarbadosBarbados
drill down50.00%EthiopiaEthiopia
drill down50.00%Libyan Arab JamahiriyaLibyan Arab Jamahiriya
drill down40.00%GhanaGhana
drill down40.00%BahamasBahamas
drill down40.00%KazakhstanKazakhstan
drill down40.00%Syrian Arab RepublicSyrian Arab Republic
drill down40.00%Iran, Islamic Republic OfIran, Islamic Republic Of
drill down40.00%SeychellesSeychelles
drill down40.00%UgandaUganda
drill down30.00%GuamGuam
drill down30.00%DominicaDominica
drill down30.00%BoliviaBolivia
drill down30.00%Virgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, British
drill down30.00%CameroonCameroon
drill down30.00%Faroe IslandsFaroe Islands
drill down30.00%GambiaGambia
drill down30.00%FijiFiji
drill down30.00%SudanSudan
drill down30.00%GuyanaGuyana
drill down30.00%ZambiaZambia
drill down20.00%AndorraAndorra
drill down20.00%ParaguayParaguay
drill down20.00%GrenadaGrenada
drill down20.00%MyanmarMyanmar
drill down20.00%Cayman IslandsCayman Islands
drill down20.00%GabonGabon
drill down20.00%MacaoMacao
drill down20.00%BotswanaBotswana
drill down10.00%SwazilandSwaziland
drill down10.00%Turks And Caicos IslandsTurks And Caicos Islands
drill down10.00%MartiniqueMartinique
drill down10.00%AfghanistanAfghanistan
drill down10.00%MalawiMalawi
drill down10.00%HaitiHaiti
drill down10.00%French PolynesiaFrench Polynesia
drill down10.00%UzbekistanUzbekistan
drill down10.00%Falkland Islands (malvinas)Falkland Islands (malvinas)
drill down10.00%SurinameSuriname
drill down10.00%Cote D'ivoireCote D'ivoire
drill down10.00%VanuatuVanuatu
drill down10.00%Saint LuciaSaint Lucia