A Fleet-ing Glimpse

With the potential of a few good things in the area this morning it was a bit of a quandary as to which direction would be best, but an early call from Daragh had me heading for Radipole Park Drive (RPD). Having already recorded many singing birds in the cemetery, in complete contrast to yesterday, and a Common Buzzard overhead at Radipole it was good to find the

Red-crested Pochard (R-c P) among a large number of other wildfowl opposite the tennis courts at RPD. Also in attendance were Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler. Tufted Duck and something of a surprise

this Pintail (along with many dozens of Pochard) a really elegant bird that visits the lake all too infrequently. It was just as I was getting in range when 2 other visitors arrived in the shape of a (the) Common Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk that cut along the line of reeds at breakneck speed. This had the effect of putting about 80% of the Ducks to flight, leaving only the brave or foolhardy,

including the Pintail and the R-cP. However, it wasn't long before most were back but unfortunately not the Pintail.

The initial report had been of just c2 R-cP but once the flock had settled there were seen to be c4,

a single male plus

c3 females. Before leaving the area, I checked out a familiar call coming from one of the large fir trees to find a Firecrest, which was not obliging enough to allow a photograph.

There had been a tentative plan to take a walk along part of The Fleet, a body of water that lies between the shingle bank of Chesil Beach and the mainland west of Weymouth, but there had also been another call from Daragh alerting me to c4 Woodlarks north of Lodmoor. Coincidentally, this was at the same time that the Chickerell bus arrived so taking this as an omen, it was the Fleet. A short walk from Chickerell Village is the old

Gateway to Fleet Road, and while I have no idea of the origin of the 'flag waving hands' on the wrought iron gateposts, think they look both ancient and novel. In turn the road leads to

and it's row of quaint cottages, and as if to add a little more drama a

Great Spotted Woodpecker landed, albeit briefly, in a nearby tree.

This is also the location, as regular readers may remember, of Moonfleet Church which features in the novel (and film) of the same name. Those wishing to read and see more of this fascinating place might like to use the 'search engine', on the Home Page and type in '12 June 2010' or 'Yesterday Once More' on this Blog to access the relevant page.

From here, you meet the Fleet at

Butter Street Cove where Mute Swans are ever present, the world famous Abbotsbury Swannery being only a mile or two to the west. Walking east you immediately gain the advantage of high ground to view a wide expanse of

the 'watercourse' with Chesil Beach in the background and the Dorset Coast stretching to the west as far as Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast of England. Also viewable from here are just some of the 'thousands' of wildfowl which thrive on the Fleet during the winter months.

Heading east, East Fleet Coast-Guard Cottages soon hove into view, as can on a day like today:-

c2 Knot (known these days as Red Knot), c15 Little Egret, c5 Turnstone and probably 'thousands of Wigeon and Brent Geese.

Red Knot

Some of the c31 Oystercatcher that were feeding in fields close by, and on closer inspection you should be able to see a single Black-tailed Godwit (honest) second from right!

In addition a Greenshank plus at least c4

Redshank appeared, the photos, for illustration purposes, are from the archive. As I made my way up the Tidmoor path to Charlestown, a

Woodlark landed on the track just ahead

and the hedgerows suddenly became alive with Redwing.

It was only on arrival at home when it dawned on me just how 'over dressed' I had been today, hot as a freshly baked loaf I looked in the mirror to notice the 'plimsoll line' the sun had left across my forehead where my hat had been. In conclusion of this walk and the area, which I don't wander half as often as I should, it is plainly apparent why the likes of Brett Spencer, Ian Dodd et al love this place so much.

Finally, this run of photographs were sent to me a couple of days ago from my friend and Chief Engineer of the Technip 'deepwater pipelay vessel' Deep Constructor just off the coast of Recife, Brazil as they commenced their passage back to UK. They are said to be from the Cingino Dam, Italy and if authentic, are little short of amazing.

It is reported McDonald's intend building an outlet on the face of the dam wall in early 2011?

John Winston Lennon MBE 1940 -1980

'Imagine' ALL the people living life in peace?

It was 30 years ago today that John Lennon was savagely gunned down in 'cold blood' in a New York street - it's impossible to kill a LEGEND!

R.I.P.

and while on the subject of music and musicians, for those who asked, the track on the Common Crane footage in yesterday's post is 'How Soon Is Now' (by, as the video credits tell, The Smiths). The riff was written by the band's guitarist Johnny Marr who is quoted as saying:- "I wanted to write a riff that was almost as potent as 'Layla' (Derek and the Dominoes [Eric Clapton re-incarnate]). When it plays in a club or a pub, everyone knows what it is." It is unarguably that, and has even been voted 'Best Riff Ever Written'! As a 'rider' the lyric was written by Smiths front-man Morrissey, and is an (the) anthem to 'shyness'.

The Smiths in 1985 left to right:

Andy Rourke, Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Mike Joyce

There was a deathly silence met me at the cemetery this morning as there was barely a bird to be heard and gone were all the Thrushes along with yesterday's freezing fog and biting wind. Wood Pigeons were the only birds in numbers, and even though there was a slightly more pleasant feel to the morning

looking across Radipole Lake, to a few Mallard & Grey Heron, it was still a wintry scene. Here, Shelduck were once again numerous but other wildfowl numbers also seemed to be much reduced. From the reeds and sedge Cetti's Warbers were again vocal after an absence of a few days, and similarly

Water Rail were uttering their distinctive 'piglet squeals', with this one posing for a photo call.

Talking of which, how about this for a pose? I'd like to add the caption " where's the slot for the money Dad, so I can get this thing going", but won't!

Arriving at Ferrybridge, I started eating my words reference the wind - it was cutting - but there were a few birds starting with a single Mallard flying into the harbour. A minor detour confirmed the c2 distant 'saw-bill ducks' to be

female Goosander carrying this strange ' face in the sea' manoeuvre, which makes me wonder whether they are 'surface feeding' or just searching for food? There were also good numbers of close relative Red-breasted Merganser, c5 Little Grebe and new arrivals c2 Great Crested Grebe.

This Great Black-backed Gull looked such a good subject

I couldn't resist shooting. Brent Goose numbers were much reduced today, 500 was the estimate, while I broke my personal count for Mediterranean Gulls at 258, which is small beer compared to some counts by others of 'many hundreds'.

Dunlin numbers were about the same as recent days, with single Curlew and Knot among them, otherwise a very pale Common Buzzard put in a brief appearance before being chased off by a Raven.

and so, on to the Bill were on the way this

Meadow Pipit perched on a garden wall, while at the Obs feeding station a

male Blackcap (one of 3 birds on site) put in a timely appearance. However, there was more pressing business as lunch, with Warden Martin Cade and Edwin Welland awaited at the Pulpit Public House where it's always good to be in the company of mine host Danny Fox.

At the Inner Harbour, Weymouth this Herring Gull also presented a photo chance, so here it is.

Last night I watched just part of a programme that drove me straight to the photo archive, allowing reminiscences of a fantastic tour during the autumn of 2008 through China. Part of that trip was a visit to Sichuan Provence and the

Giant Panda breeding centre in Chengdu, which was the subject of the programme.

I can well do without 'caged animals', but this unit certainly serves a function and is now returning some animals to the wild. That is not all the project covers however, as the equally rare

Red Panda (or Shining Cat) is also bred there,

and repatriated to its natural habitat.

Theatre too play a huge part in Chengdu (Chinese) society

with most popular among the many acts are the

astonishing 'changing mask troupe'.

Close by, and still in Sichuan Provence, at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers, at Leshan, stands the Grand Buddah Statue, built during the Tang Dynasty 618 - 907AD.

Maybe of interest, a few days later on the Lijiang River in Guilin Provence we encountered the

Cormorant Man preparing his birds for the day's work. They do say that people who keep animals for long enough eventually start to look like them (circa Princess Anne).

Later in the day, seen unloading his catch, what do you think? Is this not Chiang Kai-shag?

and his brother

Chiang Kai-shek
蔣中正 / 蔣介石

1st & 3rd Chairman of the Nationalist Government of China

In The Bleak Mid-Winter

frosty winds may moan, earth stood hard as iron water like a stone.

Despite being of no religious persuasion, I do love hymns (not as much as 'hers' but that's another story) and In The Deep Mid-Winter has to be one of my favourites!

On the other hand, I have been nominated for an OBE in respect of today's post as it is by and large Other B*gg*r's Efforts.

First of all, this link to an exceptional piece of video footage was sent to me last night by Paul Harris. Taken by one of the Beddington birders in Surrey, with the unlikely moniker of 'Dodgy', I feel sure it will be of interest to 'birders' and 'non-birders' alike - see what you think.

http://vimeo.com/17497303

and on a day when weather conditions could only be described as BITTER, I thought it best to publish a few images from a warmer clime. These are previously unpublished photographs sent to me by fellow traveller Maria Djumic from her 'Castle in Edinburgh' - THANKS Maria, will be in touch albeit when the editing is completed!

Plants, Places & People of Madagascar:-

From a window

Twisted Tree

Ploughing rice paddies

Grape vines, we did try the Malagasy wine which was perfectly palatable

The fruit sellers

Hillside, terraced fields and rice paddies, all that once was 'rain forest'.

Market stalls and

market stall owners children

The paper makers. For centuries the Malagasy people have been making paper overlaid and embossed with real wild flowers.

Short back and sides

Lowland plant

A Zebu herder

The reference to the Deep Mid-Winter was none more apparent than when stood at Ferrybridge this morning. While it was chilly in the cemetery, the number of Redwing and Fieldfare were enough to keep my mind on the job in hand, but skipping Radipole, this was the scene at the bridge.

A band of low, frozen fog extended right across Portland Harbour, 'under' the bridge and across

The Fleet and almost obscuring Chesil Beach altogether. At least c18 Golden Plover had sort the sanctuary of the sea wall close to the Ferrybridge pub, while others passed overhead. Teal and Wigeon had also been flying through, but that was before I arrived, now just a few of each were content to feed close to the shingle. My hands were too cold to hold the binoculars aloft long enough to count the Mediterranean Gulls, but there were well in excess of 100, as was the estimated number of Dunlin. A lone Curlew was also feeding close to the beach, while it seem like just one of yesterdays bar-tailed Godwit had been left to brave the elements here. Red-breasted Merganser, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, in varying numbers, were also present as were c2 Shelduck but it was soon time to go.

The footage of the Common Cranes inspired me to retrieve the Fuji FinePix, my first video camera, from the back of the locker and try a little videoing myself. What better subject than the 'smartest' bird to land in UK in recent times, the Hooded Merganser. Having been judged to be an 'escapee', by the powers that be, it remains on my list as a truly 'wild' bird, and would be prepared to go as far as saying if it is NOT, then Adolf Hitler isn't Margaret Thatcher's father! Nobody could be that wrong? However, first of all I couldn't find it, having to rely on Dick Morris to phone me with its location, then it was diving repeatedly and so far out even the BBC wouldn't have filmed it. It would seem however that I may have 'over egged the custard' with 109MB of whirling Brent Geese video memory which simply doesn't want to 'upload' to the Blog.