Tuesday 29 March 2016

Stormy Monday - T-Bone Walker

Following on from the extra Post of Monday we can now
report that a second
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER 
They call it Stormy Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad!
A few days of both wet and windy weather have ensued making it almost impossible to walk the Recording Area and is likely what is keeping most migrant birds at bay? It's on such days that the Strange Rover comes into its own making for not only a dry outing but also serving as an ideal Bird Hide (or 'blind' for you guys across the pond) allowing in some instances close encounters. See previous Post.

When visible SUNSET has coincided with a
 'FULL' MOON RISE
with Jupiter in close attendance but
unfortunately doesn't show on this image.
Moths also have been scarce despite a reasonable rise in
overnight temperatures but there has been
 another new species for 2016
 TWIN-SPOTTED QUAKER
and in the traps at the same time
 A really smart and tiny 'species' of
BEMBIDION BEETLE
thought most likely to be
PUNCTULATUM
along with the Micro Moth
DEORESSARIA DAUCELLA
we still don't do Micros so ID credits should go to
John Gifford for the Beetle and Dave Foot for the latter.
A little late in coming, but we have now finally got round to publishing
these images of a
GOSHAWK
which we very fortunately made contact with some days ago.
Not surprisingly, for such a 'rare' species in Dorset,
it was another addition to the
Year List.
The same has to be said of
YELLOWHAMMER
which showed itself
on the same day.
All birds are now getting into their prime but none more so than
GREAT TIT
and
BLUE TIT
The first of this years
CHAROLAIS CALVES
GREYLAG GEESE
NETTING
now in place over part of the Balancing Pond.
Living in such close proximity to an International Airport
one has to be tolerant of aircraft noise pollution with the exception of
these regular visiting
CHINOOKS
which get right on my Coal, Blue, Great and Long-tailed!
The new CHICKS arrived in the week, a lucky half dozen
saved from the clutches of Mr Heinz.
and we also had a short visit from our friend Dave Foot earlier in the week
who managed to secure these 2 video clips.
In my case it was only luck that allowed brief glimpses of the Woodpecker!

TRAIL CAMERAS UPDATE
GREY SQUIRREL
MAGPIES
WOOD PIGEON, PIED WAGTAIL, CARRION CROW
and before we say hasta la vista a couple or 3 images from our friends
Roong and Jean Francois in Thailand 
CRESTED GOSHAWK
in their garden pond,
 ASIAN OPENBILL
with 
GIANT SNAIL
and
ORIENTAL PRATINCOLE
"Oh for one of them on Merritown".
There is something a little uncanny about the combination of the Blog Stats and the continuation of the Bagsy Memoir, Not for the fist time has the start of a new chapter coincided with the appearance of that particular country on the list below. On this occasion it was my first visit to Poland in 2006 and what a memorable visit that was, we will try and dig out a few images as an extra Post in the week. 
EntryPageviews
United Kingdom
260
United States
201
France
18
China
15
Germany
12
Ireland
10
Canada
9
Estonia
9
New Zealand
7
Poland
6

Sunday 27 March 2016

The Lord of the 'Ringed'

Easter Sunday was not a day intended for a Blog Post given the weather forecast and that which had gone before overnight. It had seemed that the near gale force winds and occasional showers during the hours of darkness were bad enough, but then came daybreak, a full hour earlier than what we have been used to. The precise second the torrential stuff started, driven even harder by a much increased wind, is well remembered as the very second we stepped from Slight Return II to embark on monitoring the Moth Traps, an exercise which was quickly abandoned until later in the day. It was possible to watch each rain filled 'front' roll in from the direction of the English Channel, just a few miles away, while to make matters worse even the short periods of sunshine were blinding!  So, in a nutshell not at all conducive with Bird Watching. However, those of us 'addicted' to such things were not deterred but only finding a 'partner' Coot which had arrived on the Gravel Pit overnight to join the long-stayer and a lone Green Sandpiper in the Puddle of Mud we turned for home. En-route, the large Solar Panel Compound proved to be too much of a temptation and even while twiddling with the combination lock the call of a   
 LITTLE RINGED PLOVER
 
 was heard
 but took a further full 10 minutes to locate.
 IT'S RAINING!
What followed was the inspiration for this Extra Post
 a chance to share
the return of this fantastic little bird!
The only interruption to this
 was what was thought to be an arrival of
MEADOW PIPIT

with attention being diverted for no more than a couple of minutes.
Although this Little Beauty was initially located on 'call' it was, after
being sighted totally mute save for a single 'call' that can be heard on
this clip.
It is hoped you enjoy this as much as we did even though
Not in the Flesh!

Friday 25 March 2016

Ride a White Swan - T Rex

Still early, and still very quiet on the migrant front but the Moth Traps have perked up slightly, despite overnight temperature remaining seasonable low. After the rounds of the afore mentioned it was decided, after the briefest of looks around the Recording Area to wander off piste in the hope of seeing what has, over the years, become something of a scarce bird in the southern counties of Great Britain.
 
RED CHESTNUT
with an
EARLY BUMBLEBEE
All that was found on Parley Court Farm was this
ROE DEER
so time to "set the controls for the heart of the sun".
Crossing the border into Hampshire and arriving at Harbridge,
after a grueling 15 minutes behind the wheel, even though there were only 32
Mute Swans in the field it still took a full 10 minutes to locate todays
Target Bird.
Once fairy plentiful overwintering on the Ibsley Water Meadows,
as years have gone by
BEWICK'S SWAN
numbers have become less and less.
This is the only bird reported from these part during the Winter Period,
and to our knowledge there have been NONE at all in Dorset.
Whatever the reason, Global Warming, reduction in numbers or whatever,
let's just hope it is the milder weather allowing them to fine
a ready supply of food further north nowadays?
With this site being so close to Blashford Lakes it would be well worth
the 5 minutes detour to see what was on offer there.
Nothing 'mind-blowing'
but this
COAL TIT
did put on a fine performance, while on the lake side of the road it
was MIDGES that were most evident - millions of them.
Brushing them off and reaching the hide unscathed or bitten
it was found that the Waterfowl were taking full advantage
of this unexpected bounty.
What a sight to see such things as


LITTLE GREBE
surface feeding while
SHOVELER
were also scrabbling for this nutritious fare!
Arriving back at Slight Return II, just in time to see the relatively new
BOEING 787 DREAMLINER
about to take to the air.
To end this Post a few clips of the
BEWICK'S SWAN
EntryPageviews
United States
275
United Kingdom
273
China
20
Germany
17
Thailand
16
Ireland
10
Canada
9
Estonia
9
France
8
New Zealand
8