Thursday 14 May 2015

Now That's What I Call 'Quite Good' - The Housemartins

'Quite Good' my Aunt Fanny, more like Down Right Dull as the Merritown Trap was opened first thing yesterday morning to find nothing more to catch the eye than what looked to be a small snippet of
 Insect Wing.
 To be fair it did look both unusual and a little exotic, and looking
further into the bottom of the trap soon found out why!
 Our very first 'captive'
EMPEROR (Moth).
We had, thus far, seen them flying across the heath, but as I am saving
myself up for the New york Marathon just before I take on
Floyd Mayweather Jnr. thought it best not to chase after one.
A Little Delight followed, but not of the Afternoon Variety!
In the other traps, and new for the Year,
 DARK-BARRED TWIN-SPOT CARPET
 SILVER-GROUND CARPET
 BROWN SILVER-LINES
 PALE TUSSOCK
in oppose to last weeks 'early' Beautiful Brocade,
a far more seasonable
 LIGHT BROCADE
 LEAST BLACK ARCHES
 SHARP-ANGLED PEACOCK
along with a
 BLACK SEXTON BEETLE
and a 'new one' on me
GREEN NETTLE WEEVIL
When my access here at Parley Court Farm is described as 'unrestricted', there are a couple of caveats to that. Not all of the Solar Panel Compounds are open to me, although the largest and most important one is, and additionally the 'Inner Sanctum' that is the Eco Recycling Plant is also partially Off Limits. Partially, as should there be any need to enter it is a case of reporting to Justin, the Site Manager and youngest son of Trelawney and Gwen, and after the mandatory Safety Brief and issue of a High Visibility Safety Vest, Free Pratique is offered. Such was the case yesterday while scrutinising the rubble and weed strewn area behind the works and spotting a new 'breeding species' for PCF.
CANADA GOOSE
love 'em or hate 'em they are on the British List, so count here as well!
My attention was further attracted to the inordinate number of Hirundines, on the wing, in the area and that among the Swallows and House Martins were somewhere in the region of a dozen Sand Martins as well. A 'scarce' species here at any time, but these birds seemed to be paying more than a passing interest to the piles of Product in the Sorting Yard. Among much other waste, all of 3 Counties 'garden and park' refuse is brought here and the system dictates what is personally considered the most 'canny' business venture in the world. Councils, Gardening Firms and private individuals 'pay' to dump this waste which is then sorted and turned into a number of products, such as compost, and then sold often to those who brought it here in the first place! Nice one Del Boy, by this time next year..........
 Looking in part much like a War Zone,
 it is probably best not to let the looks fool you. Much is going on here,
hence the focus on safety at my arrival to see Justin. There is an enormous
amount of 'heavy plant' zooming around, so the next precaution is vigilance.
 This pile holds much of the macerated tree and shrub deposit
and this was where the
 SAND MARTINs
 were, taking tiny bits and flying off with them to this
 bank of reclaimed Top Soil.
 Seen to be peppered with
tiny nest holes, I'd found myself a
 SAND MARTIN COLONY!
 Blinkin' Ek.
Totally transfixed, I was 'tooted' twice
 to get out of the way
 while the next consignments were delivered.
Just 'by-the-way', preening
COLLARED DOVE
 HOUSE MARTIN
House Martin Video
and as if to place all of the 3 common Great British Hirundines
within a 50 yard Breeding Radius here
(which might also be a Dorset Record for all we know)
 nest building
 SWALLOWs
 
joined the throng.
Swallow and House Martin
It'll be 'great' when I find something to do with myself around here!
and while we are in 'RED'
another Thank You to John Gifford for assistance with some of the ID's. 
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