Let's Get Together - Al Green

It was a great pleasure to welcome Linda and Brian Roberts from Lincolnshire to the farm for a 3 days stay, who in the first instance were traveling companions of Hugh and Janet during their recent Siberia Sortie. Both have a keen interest in all aspects of wildlife, so it was undoubtedly my pleasure to show them a decent cross section of what is on offer here. We started with the Trail Cameras which also captured our approach.

Linda and Brian Roberts plus Moi

in addition to yet another

ROE DEER
by day and

by night
while Hugh was having much more success at the south end of the farm with

 STOAT
and

BADGER
Images © Hugh Dampney.

Under the
CUMULUS CLOUD
'INVERTED ANVIL'
all that could be found in the Moth Traps were disappointing
common fare represented by no more than

 CLOUDED DRAB

COMMON QUAKER
and

 HEBREW CHARACTER

The New Kid on the Block
a 5th
ALPACA

JACKDAW

A distant

JAY

MISTLE THRUSH

DITTO

LONG-TAILED TIT

have incorporated their nest into the Sewerage Works chain link fence.

Brian and Linda were most keen to see

GREEN WOODPECKER

a number of which were seen throughout the day.

GREEN WOODPECKER CLIPS

Thought to be the nest of a
JAY
we will have to undertake more observations here.

LINNET

A 'first' for my guests
SMOOTH SNAKE
 Into the woods were along with Nuthatch and Coal Tit we found

POLYTRICHUM FORMOSUM

 FLAVOPARMELIA CAPERATA
sometimes more familiarly known as simply
PARMELIA
and

 HYPNUM CUPRESSIFORME
We, as ever, thank John Gifford for his knowledge of such things.

The fantastic accompaniment of a

SONG THRUSH

Male
STONECHAT

Female
STONECHAT

 Then, right at the last knockings and during a close encounter with a pair of
Little Ringed Plover
Brian located the first

COWSLIP
of the year.
A real pleasure to make the acquaintance of you both and as the Jocks might say
Will Ye No Come Back Again!

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Mediterranean C - Richard Wright (Pink Floyd)

 Mediterranean C Link
Yesterday began with a few common and uninvited visitors to Slight Return II

out of the starboard porthole could first be seen a pair of

MALLARD
followed by 2 brace of female

PHEASANT
we always welcome starting a new day on the Wild Side!

The Reader will also notice that we are still 'behind bars'
uncertain whether these are meant to hold us in or keep us out.

From the

MOTH TRAPS

 PEBBLE PROMINENT
(new for the year)

 a somewhat early appearance of

PIED SHIELDBUG

which was found to be holding an Equity Card so.......
Additionally

BLACK SEXTON BEETLE
with

attendant
PARASITES
was also secured.

This next item fits neatly under the heading

NOT BEFORE TIME!

 MEDITERRANEAN GULL,

 sometimes up to as many as 2 dozen,

 have been a daily feature here at 

Parley Court Farm

 for the past 2 weeks or more.

 Not before yesterday had we been anywhere near capturing them on camera

 but even the most 'fleet of wing'

don't escape us - yeah alright!

 Now popping up all over the place and adding some much needed colour

 DANDILION

and

CELANDINE

while withing the Solar Panel Compound

PIED WAGTAIL

are once again prospecting the redundant cable drums as potential nest sites.

Some unusual aviation action in our airspace with the arrival of a

 AIRBUS A400M ATLAS

 Military Transport Aircraft
followed in close succession by something

 completely baffling.
Thanks to our Dear Friend Roy Norris

 Over to you Mister Norris
we can now inform you that it is a
PILATUS PC - 12/47
and while 'on the wing' this sequence of shots involving a pair of

 EARLY BUMBLEBEE

 (look-out, he's behind you!)

 copulating or whatever Insects do?

These images will be consigned to the Fluke File later!

Also at Bournemouth International Airport large building projects continue

 with this area, which could have been described as HEATH, now

being readied for the construction of yet another factory where among
other things Aircraft 'Black Box' Recorders are to be manufactured.
We'll keep you posted on progress - if that's the right word?
and while we had already announced what may have been the last

REDWINGas Nature often does, we were proved wrong yesterday. 
Otherwise, just a couple of video clips from the Irrigation Pond of

CANADA GEESE
and

COOT
which are both thought likely to breed there??

and a lone

MAGPIE
Some interesting (if you go for that sort of thing) ground cover to end.

AZOLLA

more commonly known as

FAIRY MOSS

among other vernacular names.

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Sowing the Seeds of Love - Tears For Fears

Those of you who read our last Post will remember the huge disappointment associated with a 'slip of the thumb' and not capturing that vital moment of copulation regards the Little Ringed Plovers. Fear not Stout Yeoman, as all will be reveled as we patiently set about redressing the issue! In fact it took no time at all as our arrival at the compound met with the 'calls' of the Plovers followed by stationing ourselves as close as we dare to the broody couple. Within a short few minutes he was on her like a long-dog and this time we were able to record the Happy Event.

A couple of reassuring 'calls' and a check on trajectory,

a final fanning of the tail and puffing of the chest then,

as Marillion so eloquently put in the song

Heart of Lothian

And anarchy smiles on the Royal Mile

and they're waiting on the slyboys, flyboys, wideboys

Rooting, tooting cowboys

Lucky little ladies at the watering holes

They'll score the Friday night goals.

I was born with a Heart of Lothian.

Heart of Lothian Link

PS - from my 5th most favourite album in the World

Misplaced Childhood.

From the Moth Traps there were 2 new additions to the Year List

 FROSTED GREEN
and

 PALE PINION
plus the

DANCEFLY

EMPIS TRIGAMMA

 7-SPOT LADYBIRD
and the amazing Beetle of the

 APHODIOUS (species)

half the size of a Garden Pea - beautiful!

After the traps we spent a little time scrabbling under our carefully

placed sheets of metal and roofing felt, to find 2 species of

CENTIPEDE
CRYPTOPS ANOMALANS

HAPLOPHILUS SUBTERRANEUS
along with a nest of 

ANTS

now becoming far more active than over the preceding months.
A WORD OF THANKS GOES TO JOHN GIFFORD FOR
HIS VALUED ASSISTANCE IN IDENTIFYING THE ABOVE.

In addition there were a couple of

SLOW WORM

while rest of the day's action was centered on the Moors River, adjacent

Solar Panel Compound, but more particularly Merritown Heath.

 LINNET

 with most of the males now sporting

 Summer Plumage.

 

 Unusual to be grounded along the

 Moors River

 CORMORANT

and 'the'

 GREY HERON 

it's still there!

A tentative plan for the day had been to pay a visit to Delph Wood, not

a million miles from here, in hope of seeing the pair of

 MANDARIN

that had been seen there lately. In the event we scrubbed round it

 and then stumbled on a 'pair' of our own.

The clip only shows a 'brief encounter' which will suffice

as a record shot.

On the Heather c4

 COMMON CROSSBILL

 were seen, my first there but Dave Foot did have a similar number

during his last visit.

 WOODLARK

are not overly common here so any record is cherrished, but at this

time of year it could indicate another chance of breeding here??

Trail Cam Round Up

Unfortunately nothing new but at least one item which we found

most amusing even though it could easily have led to destruction.

Always opportunist the early morning

 FOX

and if my memory serves me correctly some of us were once

Young Bucks

perhaps reason then for the behavior of this young

ROE DEER

Brain Damage - Pink Floyd

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