Thursday 1 November 2012

This Old Hat(o) Of Mine - Trad Royal Navy Song

Although there was yet another swing in the weather today, back to decent periods of sunshine, little wind but cool, for me it was another of home-ward-bound. A computer glitch mid-morning delayed reaching the target of 6 jobs to do until early evening, but at least my South American maps should be wending there way to me. Coincidental that I should mention SA, as here are a few more shots, this time from Hato Pinero, Venezuela, to whet the apatite before my next adventure. One memory of that fantastic place was on the 5 hours return journey to the capital Caracas when my driver said we would have to stop for petrol. As the attendant pumped 55 litres into the 4 x 4 I made off to get the coffees, but on my return found that I had paid more for these than he had for the bunkers. Seems President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías 'gives' the stuff away, but insists on a small remuneration for the attendants, as the country is so wealthy in oil. As has been proven in recent weeks, this forms the basis of 'True Democracy' in Venezuela, as Hugo has been voted in for yet another term! 
BAR-BACKED WREN
BLACK VULTURE roost.
BLACK-COLLARED HAWK
BROWN-THROATED PARAKEET
BUFF-NECKED IBIS
ORINOCO CAIMAN with fish.
juvenile CAPIBARI
adult CAPIBARI the World's Largest Rodent.
CAPPED HERON
COMMON BLACK HAWK
and how about this. A photograph sent to me by Jim the Medic, taken just the other day in a garden in East Hull, Yorkshire by a gardener friend of his. Unfortunately, this is all the info at present but I have pestered him for more as I feel sure there will be 'birders' in the area who have not seen TRUMPETER FINCH before!
Back to the Old Chestnut, and just one of several mails and telephone calls I have received, from a Weymouth 'birder' this time, on the subject.
Hi Paul,
          I hope this e-mail finds you well and it comes with my usual apology for not being in touch more often! I am a keen reader of your blog and was incredulous to read about pete saunders' comments to you (P.S. I don't think the name even justifies capital letters). I have never been nor do I wish to be part of the obs clique- I have little time for Martin or most of the 'obsites' (which seems an appropriate term, particularly as the addition of just two letters turns it into GOBSHITES!!) and therefore would not have expected to hear the news under the circumstances. However, as word finally got out I watched developments with a heavy mix of emotions (some of which are I believe included in the Bible as deadly sins...). The rights or wrongs of the suppression (for the record, wrongs in my opinion) paled into insignificance as the 'facts' became public knowledge- to be so 'cloak and dagger' about the bird's presence smacks to me of desperation and as it turns out, a wider audience may have helped to obtain a definitive ID, something which sounds somewhat unlikely now by all accounts (to be absolutely honest I hope the definitive ID remains elusive 'cos at least it would deprive the scrotes of a tick (and yes, envy was on the list!)). Also there seem to be a number of anomalies with the various accounts, not least that one of the original reasons given for the suppression was that the bird was spending most of its time in low shrubs which wouldn't be visible from outside the property whereas a later account on the obs website stated that it was actually foraging high in Sycamores for most of the day (which apparently favoured one of the possible IDs but not the other and again this sounds like desperation to me). Now sadly I am not in possession of the list of the 'chosen few' (though I think I could guess many of them) but gather that Brett's name wasn't on it. Whatever your opinion of Mr Spencer (who incidentally I have a lot of time for) he is without a doubt one of Dorset's finest birders and as was apparently demonstrated, clearly a lot more reliable (perhaps braver too) than any of the chosen ones. I believe that to exclude local birders of such calibre was a huge mistake and I sincerely hope that it has cost them dear!
          As for the comment about you being 'hated' by local birders, whereas I cannot speak for the Portland rabble, this is absolutely NOT the case amongst my birding acquaintances whose opinions I (and I hope you) hold in far higher regard. I can think of two local birders who may possibly evoke such emotion now and amazingly they did both see the bird!!!
and finally, another month gone which must qualify as one of the best and worst on record in local Birding terms, and not at all bad for Statistics. The UK continues to gallop towards the magical 100 Thousand record, with Taiwan readers increasing by a couple of hundred, no doubt due to my friends Vicky Cheng and Syenny Lee. Croatia have been hovering just outside of the 'three figure zone' for several days now, with the only new country to join the list being Myanmar.
Another HUGE World Wide THANK YOU in the hope that each of you can send the Link to other people that you know!
Your log size of 200,500 has 114,794 entries.

Num Perc. Country Name

drill down8259171.95%United KingdomUnited Kingdom
drill down85797.47%United StatesUnited States
drill down14981.30%CanadaCanada
drill down12721.11%AustraliaAustralia
drill down11671.02%GermanyGermany
drill down11441.00%EstoniaEstonia
drill down11120.97%FranceFrance
drill down10270.89%NetherlandsNetherlands
drill down9880.86%JapanJapan
drill down8190.71%ItalyItaly
drill down7800.68%IndiaIndia
drill down7380.64%New ZealandNew Zealand
drill down7300.64%SpainSpain
drill down7060.62%PhilippinesPhilippines
drill down5500.48%BrazilBrazil
drill down5450.47%TaiwanTaiwan
drill down4690.41%Korea, Republic OfKorea, Republic Of
drill down4530.39%SwedenSweden
drill down4130.36%PolandPoland
drill down3920.34%SwitzerlandSwitzerland
drill down3860.34%ThailandThailand
drill down3850.34%BelgiumBelgium
drill down3490.30%NorwayNorway
drill down3320.29%Russian FederationRussian Federation
drill down2710.24%RomaniaRomania
drill down2610.23%TurkeyTurkey
drill down2600.23%IrelandIreland
drill down2600.23%South AfricaSouth Africa
drill down2490.22%MexicoMexico
drill down2470.22%MalaysiaMalaysia
drill down2370.21%PeruPeru
drill down2350.20%IndonesiaIndonesia
drill down2190.19%FinlandFinland
drill down2030.18%GreeceGreece
drill down1870.16%PortugalPortugal
drill down1810.16%DenmarkDenmark
drill down1800.16%Czech RepublicCzech Republic
drill down1750.15%HungaryHungary
drill down1740.15%ArgentinaArgentina
drill down1730.15%ColombiaColombia
drill down1540.13%SingaporeSingapore
drill down1510.13%IsraelIsrael
drill down1490.13%Sri LankaSri Lanka
drill down1440.13%PakistanPakistan
drill down1400.12%Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
drill down1340.12%Hong KongHong Kong
drill down1330.12%United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates
drill down1330.12%UkraineUkraine
drill down1170.10%BulgariaBulgaria
drill down1150.10%VietnamVietnam
drill down1070.09%ChileChile
drill down990.09%CroatiaCroatia
drill down950.08%SlovakiaSlovakia
drill down920.08%AustriaAustria
drill down830.07%OmanOman
drill down820.07%VenezuelaVenezuela
drill down780.07%Costa RicaCosta Rica
drill down740.06%SerbiaSerbia
drill down700.06%Anonymous ProxyAnonymous Proxy
drill down680.06%EuropeEurope
drill down630.05%El SalvadorEl Salvador
drill down610.05%EgyptEgypt
drill down600.05%MaltaMalta
drill down590.05%LithuaniaLithuania
drill down550.05%EcuadorEcuador
drill down540.05%BangladeshBangladesh
drill down540.05%MadagascarMadagascar
drill down460.04%QatarQatar
drill down410.04%Palestinian TerritoryPalestinian Territory
drill down380.03%Asia/pacific RegionAsia/pacific Region
drill down360.03%SloveniaSlovenia
drill down340.03%LuxembourgLuxembourg
drill down340.03%GuatemalaGuatemala
drill down330.03%MongoliaMongolia
drill down320.03%


drill down310.03%IraqIraq
drill down300.03%GuernseyGuernsey
drill down300.03%GeorgiaGeorgia
drill down290.03%MoroccoMorocco
drill down290.03%LatviaLatvia
drill down260.02%Trinidad And TobagoTrinidad And Tobago
drill down250.02%Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
drill down250.02%JamaicaJamaica
drill down250.02%MacedoniaMacedonia
drill down250.02%Satellite ProviderSatellite Provider
drill down240.02%LebanonLebanon
drill down240.02%BelarusBelarus
drill down230.02%CyprusCyprus
drill down220.02%YemenYemen
drill down210.02%KenyaKenya
drill down210.02%KuwaitKuwait
drill down210.02%CambodiaCambodia
drill down200.02%JerseyJersey
drill down200.02%Lao People's Democratic RepublicLao People's Democratic Republic
drill down190.02%AlgeriaAlgeria
drill down160.01%JordanJordan
drill down160.01%Isle Of ManIsle Of Man
drill down140.01%BelizeBelize
drill down140.01%Moldova, Republic OfMoldova, Republic Of
drill down130.01%MaldivesMaldives
drill down120.01%BermudaBermuda
drill down120.01%ArmeniaArmenia
drill down120.01%PanamaPanama
drill down120.01%SudanSudan
drill down110.01%GibraltarGibraltar
drill down110.01%NigeriaNigeria
drill down110.01%MontenegroMontenegro
drill down110.01%BahrainBahrain
drill down100.01%TunisiaTunisia
drill down100.01%UruguayUruguay
drill down100.01%NepalNepal
drill down100.01%Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
drill down100.01%AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
drill down90.01%Tanzania, United Republic OfTanzania, United Republic Of
drill down90.01%IcelandIceland
drill down90.01%ReunionReunion
drill down90.01%NamibiaNamibia
drill down90.01%Virgin Island, U.s.Virgin Island, U.s.
drill down90.01%MauritiusMauritius
drill down80.01%ZimbabweZimbabwe
drill down80.01%HondurasHonduras
drill down80.01%AlbaniaAlbania
drill down80.01%ChinaChina
drill down70.01%Bosnia And HerzegovinaBosnia And Herzegovina
drill down70.01%ArubaAruba
drill down60.01%Brunei DarussalamBrunei Darussalam
drill down60.01%BhutanBhutan
drill down60.01%Netherlands AntillesNetherlands Antilles
drill down60.01%New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
drill down50.00%Libyan Arab JamahiriyaLibyan Arab Jamahiriya
drill down50.00%GuamGuam
drill down50.00%UgandaUganda
drill down50.00%BarbadosBarbados
drill down50.00%EthiopiaEthiopia
drill down40.00%BahamasBahamas
drill down40.00%KazakhstanKazakhstan
drill down40.00%Syrian Arab RepublicSyrian Arab Republic
drill down40.00%GhanaGhana
drill down40.00%Iran, Islamic Republic OfIran, Islamic Republic Of
drill down40.00%ZambiaZambia
drill down40.00%SeychellesSeychelles
drill down30.00%GuyanaGuyana
drill down30.00%DominicaDominica
drill down30.00%Virgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, British
drill down30.00%MyanmarMyanmar
drill down30.00%BoliviaBolivia
drill down30.00%Faroe IslandsFaroe Islands
drill down30.00%GambiaGambia
drill down30.00%CameroonCameroon
drill down30.00%FijiFiji
drill down20.00%BotswanaBotswana
drill down20.00%MacaoMacao
drill down20.00%ParaguayParaguay
drill down20.00%AndorraAndorra
drill down20.00%GabonGabon
drill down20.00%Cayman IslandsCayman Islands
drill down20.00%GrenadaGrenada
drill down20.00%Cote D'ivoireCote D'ivoire
drill down20.00%Falkland Islands (malvinas)Falkland Islands (malvinas)
drill down10.00%UzbekistanUzbekistan
drill down10.00%VanuatuVanuatu
drill down10.00%Saint LuciaSaint Lucia
drill down10.00%SwazilandSwaziland
drill down10.00%MonacoMonaco
drill down10.00%Turks And Caicos IslandsTurks And Caicos Islands
drill down10.00%MartiniqueMartinique
drill down10.00%MalawiMalawi
drill down10.00%SurinameSuriname
drill down10.00%AfghanistanAfghanistan
drill down10.00%HaitiHaiti
drill down10.00%French PolynesiaFrench Polynesia