Monday 29 November 2021

Yo Ho Ho it's Portland Bill

 

Saturday and another day, another drive to Weymouth and another jab, this time flu and making me feel rather like Eric Bristow’s practice dart board. The discission to make an early start, despite the dark, proved to be prudent as the first delay was just 10 miles ahead with a fallen tree at Corfe Mullen and the de-toure involving 2 further alterations of course for the same reasons! A little more to it than that as with formalities over it was a meet up with Dave Foot in the Ferrybridge car park. There, despite the 40 knot wind along with sporadic showers were found a number of Wading birds in total

 
just c3
DUNLIN
a small group of
RINGED PLOVER
along with a couple of
BAR-TAILED GODWIT
before seeking the lee of
 PORTLAND CASTLE
with this image and
video telling part of the story and finally a
female
and male
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER
PORTLAND BILL
where we headed for elevation at the
HIGHER LIGHT
the oldest of the Islands 3 Lighthouse's to try for an

overall picture which, if nothing else was a bit of a waste of time, save for the usual best view of the active and junior of the 3 navigational aids.
At the Bill Quarry we came close to stepping on this
ROCK PIPIT
with it having other ideas and before seeking another lee behind the
TRINITY HOUSE OBALISK
From there
SHAG
SHIP's that PASS in the DAY
while walking east in flight
KITTIWAKE
one of the 3 Crab / Lobster boat hoists,
the middle era lighthouse which is the
PORTLAND BIRD OBSERVATORY
and an equally flighty
MEDITERRANEAN GULL
High, if not Top of the also rans, were the new benches fashioned from
Roach Stone
which if we remember rightly is the final layer before reaching the most valued Cap Stone, and full of minute fossels, famous throughout the world for the contruction of numerous and impressive buildings.
It was during my time living on Portland that 'roach' started to be used for such decoration as hotel reception desktops etc, but there is also a large building somewhere in the capital (memory fails me) that if fully cladded with it. We thought, finally, that just the briefest of encounters with a
PURPLE SANDPIPER
might be the end of it, but no as we jammed into one of the 2 semi-resident
MERLIN
on wandering back to the car, and hopfully we will have Part II for you tomorrow.

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