The Bagsy Blog

Friday, 17 October 2014

Three Crows - (Traditional) Royal Navy

There were 3 Crows sat on a tree,

they were as Black, as Black could be.

Said one Black Crow unto the other,

You are a Black Enamel B*gg*r!

On yet another gloomy morning it was decided to take a look around the Parley Pond before heading off to the Traps where a lucky find was this

LITTLE GREBE

which, after being attacked by the accompanying Mallards,

sort shelter among the dense vegetation

and simply could not be coaxed out.

A very good start at Trap No 1 as almost the first insect out was

GREEN BRINDLED CRESCENT*
an addition to the Property List then followed by what are now
the Usual Suspects.

RED-LINE QUAKER

MERVEILLE du JOUR

and

BLACK RUSTIC

make for a fine example as to the diversity of these special creatures

and
PALE MOTTLED WILLOW
all else of interest was this

(dark morph)
DRONE FLY

Up until the Farm Yard Clear-Out
a Trap was run close to these (this) rather strange
ASH TREE(s)
that are 'joined at the hip.

As though they had once been Pollarded or Coppiced in the past, then left to their own devices

they have sent up 10 clear and distinct trunks and attracted

INONOTUS HISPIBUS
(Bracket Fungi)

CHICORY

Just a small representation of the numbers of Corvids
(Rook, Carrion Crow and Jackdaw)
around the property at this time.
and a strange little happening........

This Secret Elixir is used as another technique to attract Moths
known as 'SUGARING'
Some far more ardent Moth'ers do keep their concoctions a closely
guarded secret while mine amounts to just a mixture of
Black Treacle, Brown Sugar, Red Wine and just a splash of Dark Rum
(didn't realise until now, quite a nice colour combination).

Used on no more than half a dozen occasions, without success,
the potion is simply painted onto any convenient surface, then monitored
until the Moths arrive, or NOT in this case!
Since, it has just been 'sat on the shelf' (I know the feeling)
with this Coral Like Culture forming over a number of days.

All else to report are the number of

MEADOW PIPITs that have now moved in,
'3 figures' certainly.

Entry	Pageviews
United Kingdom	515
Germany	235
United States	172
Russia	63
France	47
Estonia	20
Ukraine	19
Canada	11
India	10
China	7

Wednesday, 15 October 2014

It's Just Another Day - Wings

Another day of wall-to-wall rain on Monday with bearly a let up so the Traps remained inactive but much better yesterday. From the traps the

Year's First

BLAIR'S SHOULDER-KNOT

PEARLY UNDERWING

variations of

BEADED CHESTNUT

along with a nice example of

DOUBLE-STRIPED PUG

DARKLING BEETLE
and the

HOVERFLY

Syrphus vitripennis
making up the best on offer.
Up at the Pond things are taking their time to happen
which is to be expected with new projects but this

'cultivar' form of

EVENING PRIMROSE
added just a hint of colour while this

small Skein of c10

GREYLAG GEESE
were the first to be recorded there albeit as 'flyovers'.

A couple of slices of Warburtons Seeded Batch

did the trick

attracting more than 30

BLACK-HEADED GULLs

in for a nibble while this

GOLDCREST
put in a brief appearance among a flock of foraging
Long-tailed Tits.

MALLARD
numbers more than doubled overnight to c8,

making it look rather like a Duck Pond, while the

MUTE SWAN

also remained in-situ revealing not only that it is

RINGED
but also its identity code
P7E

Just caught in a nick of time, c2 of its mates also flew over but
seemed totally disinterested in the pond as they continued north.

A second contender to visit the 'Heath Robinson' Bird Table a
MAGPIE
while the odd

SWALLOW

continues to be seen here daily taking a last 'kiss' of the
water before braving the English Channel.
None of these have stopped to perch hence the images from the archive.

Entry	Pageviews
United Kingdom	554
Germany	239
United States	183
Russia	51
France	42
Ukraine	24
Estonia	22
India	12
Canada	11
China	7

Monday, 13 October 2014

Fox On The Run - Sweet

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With rain, wind, lightning, thunder etc continuing throughout the week-end most wildlifeing was done from the comfort of the car and with poor returns from the Moth Traps on Saturday the idea was abandoned altogether last night. All of note was this strangely 'light' looking single

BROWN-SPOT PINION
which baffled me altogether.
Starting with a visit to the 'Hole in the Ground', all on offer there was this

FOX
but there was at least a New Arrival at the Irrigation Pond.
Over the last couple of days the area has been fed with a handful
of corn or so and seems to have attracted this

MUTE SWAN

It should be pointed out that this small watercourse has been in existence for 15 years or more and according to local 'Wildfowlers' is visited by Mute Swans regularly. So, when it is stated a bird is 'new' to the Pond List

that only relates to my own records since the site was cleared..

Not only good for the record but also to answer a couple of outstanding questions that might have been tackled in quite a different way had this bird not shown. Firstly, how deep is the pond? Well sat there in the rain for 2 hours it fed across the whole area and didn't have to cock its tail once, making the depth no more than Swan-Neck! The second and final question was answered as a consequence, is there any natural food? It was bringing up great beaks full of greenery so in addition it is thought ideal for 'Diving Ducks'.

There are a good number of resident

JAYs

on the property which at this time appear to have been augmented
by migrant birds. It is unlikely they will stay as similar to 2012 there is
not an ACORN to be found.

This one, braver than all the others, was feeding from the recently