The Young Ones - Cliff Richard

Can there any greater gift handed to a man in his twilight years than to pass on a small amount of what little he knows to a much younger audience. Following on from yesterday’s outing with apprentice No 1 Chloe, today it was the turn of apprentices 2 and 3, but with an otherwise engaged 4 now awaiting the next opportunity.

 l to r Oliver (11) who currently plays football for Broadstone Juniors who are currently 2nd in the Dorset league, Sophie (just 4) and already accomplished in 4 dance styles and Josh (9) who excels as a player for the Bournemouth FC (cum on you Cherries) Academy.

What was omitted from yesterday’s missive was the talent of young Chloe who is an upholsteress 

(if there is such a word) of the highest order, and while we shy away from advertising, like the plague, it would be a joy to myself to promote her business!.

 Not only has she re-covered my seating arrangement

 but also laid the new blue carpet tiles before presenting my with this most novel gift

A 'real life' Moth Cussion (from top)

Black Arches

Scarce Merveille du Jour

*

Merveille du Jour

*

Peach Blossom

* represents unidentified, if you can help with this please leave a message - Thanks!

Feeling a little inferior in the company of such talents and people far wiser that there years

suggest, we set off for the search, firstly across the 

Recording Area

with the weather not quite in our favour but soon altering to a bright and sunny morning.

 Both Coots once again obliged at the Irrigation Pond with just a single Little Grebe putting in a brief appearance, but most refreshing was to hear the children naming names as we progressed.

Further excitement was generated by the

 TUFTED DUCKs

at the Gravel Pit but certainly outshone by a flushed

 COMMON SNIPE

 a new species for both of our appretices!

It was always going to be a little dull at these sites, so to cut our losses we headed for

Longham Lakes

where there is always something to see.

All the images from here on were taken by Sophie and Josh

 THere was but a single Egret represented by

 LITTLE

 a sleeping

POCHARD

 MUTE SWANs

 more active

 POCHARD

 GREAT CRESTED GREBE

 just the faint arc of a
RAINBOW

 before some child-like pranks

Have decided not to show the video of myself in the wallow,

shades of "A bold Hippopotamus" - Flanders and Swann.

Should anyone out there (within the county) require upholstering, including

your 'syrup' Willie please leave a message at the bottom of the page.

DENNIS DIDN'T GET TO SPOIL THIS DAY EITHER!

Passing Strangers - Billy Eckstine and Sarah Vaughn

With Dennis (the Menace) continuing to be relentless, yesterday 
was another when it was decided to be as dogged as he!
Not to be put off by continuous heavy rain, somewhat subdued 
winds and a number of local roads flooded and impassable along with my
vivacious and enthusiastic adult apprentice

CHLOE

we set about a mini rounds of the local area, without success, before heading off again for

EYEWORTH POND

It was felt sure, given the prevailing conditions, that the Goosander

would have stayed put but in the event that also was not to be!

However, a hearty late morning breakfast redressed the ballance after which we went our seperate ways leaving me to knock up yet another

'All Our Yesterdays Post'

More additions to the Recording Area List

included not one but 2

WATER RAIL

during the month of October 2017 the first, having been 'heard only',
along our beat of the River Stour did not qualify for list inclussion, but

just one week later

12/11/2017 
 a second was seen and heard in the proximity of the
Irrigation Pond Feeding Station

On our usual Sunday wander to the far south west corner of the
Recording Area 
in a search for Geese on 
10/12/2017
 what met the eye was far from
 Goose-like with this rather dull looking

HAWFINCH
 standing out like a sour thumb against a clear blue sky.
It remains still the only record from our patch.

What could not even have been envisage in our wildest of dreams

appeared on the Heath on

12/12/2017

As looking through the residue of local Stonechats and Dartford Warblers
this very 'hoary' bird appeared perched directly in front of the
Strange Rover

 2 Strangers then on that early winter's day.

 As experienced on a couple of other occassions the immortal words from 
the flysheet of one of my old bird books flashed before me
 "and then like all rare things, it was gone"!

 Luckily, it did stay but then there was the task of noting all the fieldmarks 
of such a rare bird which was done to my satisfaction.

With a little help in confirming such a beauty

it was, later in the day, considered to be

a pukka

SIBERIAN STONECHAT
We are hopeful that the weather today (Monday) will clear up
as more (younger) appretices should be on their way. 

Storm in a Teacup - The Fortunes

Another abysmal weather forecast and another warning of a ‘named’ gale predicted 

to be with us during the mid-forenoon, so whatever the decision it had to be before storm 

Dennis became a Menace!

Across our usual morning cicuit another male 

TUFTED DUCK

was found on the Gravel Pit 

while a little further on across the flooded

 Northern Horse Paddocks

 were found a host of wind-blown Gulls mostly

Black-headed (centre) Herring Top and

 LESSER BLACK-BACKED

 also among these were c2 winter plumaged

 MEDITERRANEAN GULLS

which simply would not lend themselves to the Canon

but nevertheless an addition to the RA Year List

a decent number of 

PIED WAGTAIL

there too but what wasn't anticipated was this

TREECREEPER

flying directly into the

Viewfinder

Gone mid-morning and still little sign of

Dennis

 the sensible choices were between heading back to barracks or acting on

information recieved from our Broadwey correspondant of a worthwhile

bird just a 30 minute drive away and in the heart of the 

New Forest

is a much favoured location in the Forest but on the day seems the public

had chossen my abandonded option, with no one there at all,

but the object of our desire was, a fine looking

male

 GOOSANDER

 and after a full hour alone with this beauty

 and the cessation of

Flying Stations

 It can be seen by comparisson of the stills and heard via the

sound tracks that

DENNIS 

had struck

If I Could Turn Back Time - Cher

It was a bit of a slog yesterday but well worth it for the 
Silver Lining
that is just about to visit us. The day report shows the addition of a second

 COOT
on the Irrigation Pond, which was the sum total, but sure to send
The Bagsy Blog
VIRAL

 so perhaps no need to send the Link to yer Pals?

Not only a seemingly apt Headline but the video also jiggled the Memory Bank

of our most extensive Twitch ever, all 23,000 miles of it and maybe 

coming to a Blog near you soon!

You need to watch the video first!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsKbwR7WXN4

Which in turn triggers yet another ‘sea story’ as the Royal Navy home fleet was steaming at full speed ahead to rendezvous mid-Atlantic with the United States equivalent. As the flagships passed abeam of each other and in opposite directions the American Admiral took to the radio and requested to speak “Admiral to Admiral”. In a jaunty voice he complimented the British Fleet on looking so spick and span and seaworthy and completed the transmission by asking “and how is the second largest navy in the world today”? The British Admiral then took to the air and thanked him for his kindness, echoed the same sentiment and may I end by  ask “how the second BEST navy is doing this fine day”?

But we digress! 

To turn back time to our next addition to the RA List we revisit 16/03/2017 which was when traffic volume in and out of the Eco Recycling Plant was much reduced by comparison to what it is today. A Sunday, so no workings at all found me face to face with this

 GREAT WHITE EGRET

 as yet not settled and in company with a Grey Heron which departed on my arrival.

 Now looking far more comfortable it went through a few functions such as gapping

 Most welcome but not surprising as c3 had spent 

most of the winter at Longham Lakes, just a couple of miles away,

and maybe this was part of the disperal?

 It is thought from the slow-mo

 that the prey species were most likely

 NEWTS