If 6 Was 9 - Jimi Hendrix

Today's weather could only be described as sunshine and showers, with the latter so frequent they were enough to curtail any sensible bird watching. However, despite the weather my day started on a real high note when I bumped into one of my former Captains and ex Weymouth Harbour Master David Stabler. It's easy to bandy words such a 'gent' and 'inspiration' but Stabler is both of these and much more. While endeavouring to become a Mate (Chief Officer) Dave gave me so much help that I believe it was him who past the exams. Later we served in a number of vessels together, me in varying capacities, but none more memorable than ETV Auricular. Our annual tasks included weeks long trips to Norway in the winter, while in the summer months we would run out of Funchal, Madeira, for up to 6 weeks at a time, and what heady days they were. If your reading this Dave, which likely you are, I felt the mutual respect when we met today and hope it won't be too long until we do so again!

The cemetery was once again full of birds, probably brought in by yesterday's appalling weather, with Tits (Blue, Great and Long-tailed) all well up in double figures and Chiffchaff numbering about a dozen. At the Westham Bridge a moment of contemplation had me thinking just how lucky I am to have so many birds just a 5 minute walk from my home, and make no apology for including some photographs here.

Mallard (male)

Coot

Tufted Duck (male)

In addition to these, and within the same 5 minutes walk, there could be Bearded Tit, Cetti's Warbler, Water Rail, Bittern and many, many more - a lucky lad!

As I reached the foreshore at Ferry Bridge the rain seemed even more likely. but spotting a distant Goosander (something of a stranger here) I wasn't even considering the prospects of getting wet. There was also a

Grey Heron, in the company of a number of Shags and Cormorants on a moored barge,

seemingly settled for the duration?

Safety boat to the left, Lynx 'chopper centre and the casualty right.

That is until the arrival of a Mk 4 Royal Navy Lynx helicopter carrying out 'air/sea rescue' drills. Unfortunately the pilot needed to fly right over the exposed sand , several times, putting the few feeding Brent Geese to flight, while spooking everything else. A Bar-tailed Godwit did alight briefly, but like the few Dunlin and Ringed Plover decided there would be a bit more peace a little further up the Fleet. The only birds prepared to stick it out were c54 Mediterranean Gulls, a few each of Black-headed, Great Black-backed and Common Gulls and the usual winter gathering of Turnstones. The plan had been to continue to the Portland Bird Observatory, but having already got a minor soaking decided home would be a more comfortable option. As I watched these 2

Shags ('diving now') I notice what for me was the first of what will doubtless be an overwintering Little Grebe.

Since returning from Madagascar at least a couple of hours each evening has been given over to editing photographs and catching up with the fair log. During a wander through the photo archive I came across the following series of images from a Morocco trip Jim the Medic and I did in 2006. Ostensibly to follow in the footsteps of our hero Jimi Hendrix, there was time for quite a bit of 'birding' but the highlight for both of us was undoubtedly staying in the same hotel, the Riad Al Madina in Essaouira, where Hendrix found much inspiration. It is said that from the sea wall he looked out to a series of small off-shore islands and put together in his head the foundation of the seminal Castles Made of Sand which is one of the lynch pins of the Axis Bold As Love album. You have to ask yourself, what 'If 6 Was 9'?

Bald Ibis

Audoin's Gull

Black Wheatear

Calandra Lark

Common Bulbul

Greater Flamingo

Ferruginous Ducks with Common Coot

House Bunting

Mousier's Redstart

Spotless Starling

Ditto, all fluffed up

and finally, also on a musical note, I managed to get the new hi-fi working this afternoon which this evening over a glass of Claret was adequately christened by Mr Bonamassa. For the first time, in what must be 200 plays of 'Live at the Albert Hall', I finally got to grips with the duet on Further On Down The Road with Eric Clapton. Until today I had considered 'Slowhand's' performance pedestrian, but it brought tears to my eyes endorsing my theory there is no such animal as 'crap music', there is only music you haven't understood yet! I certainly got it tonight, not to mention Sloe Gin and Dazed & Confused - buy the DVD before it's too late.

PS
I have the dehumidifier on and recon the Persian should be dried out by morning - PEACE!

I Can't Stand The Rain - Ann Peebles

Heavy rain was the order of the day, and quite simply it just forgot to stop until late afternoon. Not a chance of getting out and about, but again an opportunity to catch up with a few things at home. Setting up the new Blue-ray DVD player was one option but even that beat me so not a very productive day. With no up to the minute photographs, I have returned again to Madagascar making today's post another pictorial.

Madagascar Green Sunbird

Chameleon

Part of the unusual deciduous Forest

Gecko

Madagascar Magpie Robin

Chameleon

Forest Bloom

Pitta-like Ground-Roller
Baobab Tree

Can you see what it is yet?

These 'Flat Geckos' have folds of skin on their flanks allowing them to cling tightly and blend in with the tree trunk.

Possibly Uroplatus henkely


Ring-tailed Lemur & Verreaux;s Sifaka

and finally, while reading the Blog of my 'Followers' JRandSue (thank you both) I came across this most interesting site with self adjusting maps. Just log on, fill in the Countries / States / Regions etc and there is a record of your own standing. My particular distributions look like this at present:-

Countries of the World visited.

Ditto for the United States of America. The 3 outstanding are Hawaii, Utah and Idaho - watch this space!

http://douweosinga.com/projects/visited?region=world

Wader ID Conundrum

After a night of heavy rain and hail showers, it was a surprise to wake to a fairly heavy frost and clear blue sky once again. With barely any wind the abundance of birds in the cemetery were in full voice, and most enjoying the bright sunshine from the tops of tall trees. These included:-

half a dozen Collared Dove,

as many Magpies as I have seen there in recent times,

many, many Robins along with numerous

Blue Tit and

Chaffinch and it was also good to see a few

Greenfinch back after what seems like a long absence. The stars of the show however were a pair of

Blackcap with this male being the only one of the duo to oblige with a pose. There was also a Great Spotted Woodpecker present.

The plan then was to continue to Ferry Bridge, but that was curtailed before even reaching Radipole by a phone call from Daragh Croxson advising me of the return to Lodmoor of a

Long-billed Dowitcher (photo from the archive). It was nowhere near close enough to be photographed, so just for illustration purposes this image is from the archive.

World Distribution

These two photographs (among a few) have remained unidentified since a trip to the west coast of the USA in 2007.

I would be grateful to anyone who can solve these ID problems and send me their thoughts via the 'Comments' box, or any other means. I'd like to thank Dave Chown for his advise, but more importantly for relocating today's bird after it had been seen flying away - thanks Dave.

Eventually I did reach Ferry Bridge were c22 Ringed Plover, c11 Dunlin and a single Oystercatcher were all that could be seen on the foreshore, while counting the Brent Geese today presented no difficulty despite both of them being some way off!

Looking over the road, and into Portland Harbour a good number of Gulls could be seen in a feeding frenzy while on closer inspection they could be seen flying above a number of other birds on the surface of the sea. In all the group comprised Great Black-backed, Herring, Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls, while on the sea were Red-breasted Merganser, Cormorants, Shags and at least c2 Goosander. The photos of the latter are also from the archives.

Goosander (male)

Goosander (female)

and finally a few more previously unpublished photographs from Madagascar.

With almost 1,200 Malagasy Ariary to the GB Pound you only had to convert a few quid to become a millionaire.

Some of the creatures of

the Rain Forest.

Tree Frog

Chameleon

Congregation of Bugs

Unidentified Beetle.