Here Comes the Sun?? - The Beatles

 Despite a favouable forecast on Thursday night things turned out a little differently which is now unusual as far as modern-day forecasting goes! It was the early morning

SKYSCAPE

 that told the story even at 07:45 looking rather threatening but luck, not better judgement, was on our side.

There was also a poor attempt at a ground frost, with the temperature at just +1°C, which disappeared as the upper limb of the Sun cut the horizon.

We had set 2 Moth Traps which remain aglow for a full 3 minutes when one of them caused a 'short' and tripped the whole system. Soon corrected by disconnecting the culprit we did get a bit of joy with

GREY SHOULDER-KNOT
along with a

SILVER Y
The thrust was to follow up on yesterday's finds by targeting Black Redstart which appears to be featuring right across Dorset at the moment. Not a great start, in fact not really a start at all as both ponds were almost devoid with just 3 each of Teal and Little Grebe on the Gravel Pit and not a single peep emitting from the Sewerage Works fence / hedge and that's when the heavy and persistant stuff started! Good job then that we had some dunnage from the day before left over to present here.

While by no means most numerous

BULLFINCH

were contenders for 'most vocal' with their whispy lilts emitting for much of the surrounding bushes.
Next came a rather obliging

WREN

which proved both vocal and

something of a gymnast.
A couple of

COAL TITs

were a most welcome sight as seemingly absent right across our Patch

for 2 or 3 weeks or more.

GOLDCREST

was to follow next

unusually on its own.
Before departure to the Heath we also added a

male

CHAFFINCH

and

DUNNOCK
known in our boyhood as
Hedge Sparrow - which they are not!

Along the Solar Panal Compound were found a trio of

MISTLE THRUSH

which are likely the vanguard of the more northerly birds
which appear to enjoy the Winter here.
Last, but by no means least, there was a single

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECK
awaiting our arrival at the gateway and then a second

on the garden feeders when we returned to base.
Still raining at the completion of this post but it will take a
lot more that that to deter us from yet another wander tomorrow!

What a Day for a Daydream - The Lovin' Spoonful

 With a 0°C value on the thermometer predicted for dawn there seemed little point in burning off any more bunkers just in hope! However, there was a ‘catch-up list’ from the previous night waiting in the wings. Nothing new for the year but a Moth is a Moth!

FEATHERED THORN (7)

RED-GREEN CARPET (5)

SILVER Y (3)

STREAK
(another single or a re-trap of the one caught on the 10th inst, but no evidence to prove that)

MALLOW
(just the brace)
However and annoyingly there was a most frisky escapee, a considered candidate for

 BLOXWORTH SNOUT
named after the Dorset village of the same name in 1884, just 12 miles from here as the crow flies.
Both resident and migrant they usually favour outside buildings but not here so far! 

The Wait Continues!

c3

GREEN WOODPECKERs

at the first signs of sensible daylight on the tennis court then
directly into the field where everything was of a Common nature, but surprisingly Cooperative, we again searched the southern section without success.

Plus and Minus at the Irrigation Pond from where the now c3 Mute Swans had disappeared but

 replaced by a 'new'

TUFTED DUCK

seemingly happy

to be captured by both modes.
Twixt there and the Gravel Pit

we came upon a 'first of the Autumn' multi-skilled

REED BUNTING
capable of calling and filling its crop at the same time.
Arrival at the Pond and there they were the presumed c3 white refugees from the Pond behind us

MUTE SWANS

with only c2 fully visible but along with a young

ROE DEER

contentedly chewing the cud.

The third did quicly break cover

maybe thinking he was missing something as we were certainly not as the c3

LITTLE GREBE
appeared simultaneously from the deapths in a pose that you could sometimes take weeks to capture

before going on well beyond cooperation

even including the Deer.

A great day for Swan-upping

as in addition to these 3, incluing the

female of the species, there were a further c14 Mutes across our recording area.
From the Heath it was thought that all of the Gulls had now headed to the coast for the Winter

but this single

HERRING GULL
is surely finding something around here to sustain it?
A passing chance also to look down into the Ballancing Pond, where collects excess
rain water from the Airport, to find the Autumal looking

GREATER REEDMACE
along with a

KESTREL in HOVER
the video turned into a bag of worms.
However, there was to be something of a bonus in this as in the same frame was a
small flock of birds in flight of which we took just an opportunistic shot while thinking Waders.

Only by looking at the image could we identify the species for certain with the long, straight bills and the white wing bar on the left hand bird pointing to

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT

as only the second record here after Dave Foot spotted a similar flock in flight here last year.

All else on the Heath at least, was the swaying of the
BIRCHES catching the gentle zephyr along with

"white fluffy clouds in a cluster hanging on the breeze to dry"
but the Moors River was about to throw up More!

CORMORANTs

were a little more visable

through a convenient break in the dense tree-line

with also a possible new arrival

COMMON SNIPE
Finally, and with the blazing Sun directly in our eyes, up ahead on the Solar Panel access path stood a grazing

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE

reversing onto the bridalway we were able to overtake it and approach from the opposite direction where when in position there were found to be

2

and finallythe

TRIO

surely making them our long time resident birds!
and finally, we waited and we waited and tried to beat it to the punch and today got a

Full Side On View
of the now fully active
EUROPEAN CARGO AIRBUS

Patience is a virtue possess it if you can, 

often found in women but never found in man!  

(with this exception)