The Chestnut Tree - Glenn Miller

 It was just the way that things go as most of our wanderings seemed to attact Wildlife of the smallest kind, but there are exceptions to every rule. Right Time, Right Place as we moseyed off the flash up the Moth Traps but just in time to watch this

AIRBUS
taxiing for take-off.

SMALL PURPLE BARRED

was first on show and a 'first for the year' so a decent start but followed in quick succession by even better quality in

LANGMAID'S YELLOW UNDERWING
which can present some identification problems, so always seek advice, with

the far more common and frequent
LESSER BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING

PRIVET
on the Heath is now flowering in all directions so no surprises that the leviathan that is

PRIVET HAWK-MOTH
has been caught daily over the past week and of interest might be the

LARVAE
of such a beauty and while we don't do Micro Moths there is, as ever, some exceptions to that rule when we capture the likes of

BOX-TREE MOTH
 while others in the traps included

LARGE AMBER SNAIL

LEMON SLUG
along with a minute

GARDEN SNAIL
while a number of adults were congegating on a

nearby fence post.
Otherwise, it was left to a couple of nervous looking

GREEN SANDPIPERS
clicked

and videoed through the windscreen for fear of flushing them, love the reflections, but then came the highlight of the month a long overdue visit to our dear, dear friend and erstwhile apprentice

CHLOE
in her and her partners very own
WONDERLAND

with firstly the tiniest of

SNAIL

continuing the theme on my wing-mirror,

tiny

FROGS

developing

HORSE CHESTNUTS
(Conkers)
and almost got a full-frontal of this

COMMON DARTER
and very nearly forgetting the

WOOD ANTs 

nesting in the traps.

Purple - Red and Orange

 Harking back to the week-end when there were 4 pairs of eyes, 11 Moth Traps and much myrth it was certain that we would have to pay a revisit at sometime or another! With c3 seperate additions to the Recording Area List this may not be the last wander back as we do like to show as much as we can of our findings. Having already presented the

LUNAR HORNET MOTH
there is surely room for a repeat while our second addition was also of the wing-ed kind with a 4 years long wait fulfilled to boot! It was that long ago that we claimed to have caught a brief glimps of a

PURPLE HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY
and while it was considered then that it could not have been anything else there was never any absolute certainty about it so it remained on the Moment Lost List.

No doubts this time with 2 obsevers and c3 Insects gamboling in the upper reaches of the neighbouring Mighty Oak - what a find!
Third and final it could only have been Dave who returned to base with firm reports of a

SIKA DEER
behind the Eco Recycling Works.

An import from the Far East the story of how they got to be here and spread so widely and numerously across Dorset still brings a chuckle. It is  said that it was the owner of Brownsea Island who thought a herd of these beasts would compliment his rolling acres but without knowing how many the story goes that by the following morning they all swam to the mainland where none-stop breedin
g commenced! Back to the present and with overnight temperatures now nudging +20°C we are also seeing some decent returns from the Moth Traps which we will bring to you at a trickle starting with

BARRED RED

which strangely also has a varient 'green morph'?

along with

ORANGE FOOTMAN

and what we find to be a delightful little creature in the

EAR MOTH
Otherwise, up-dates really as the

c2 SLOW WORMs

as a CUCKOO provides backing vocals this late in their season.

"In July away I fly, in August away I must"

continue to co-exist  with the Wood Ants under one of the traps,

BRAMBLES
showing early signes of a bountiful BLACKBERRY harvest this year.

Hordes of juvenile

STARLINGs

at just about every

location.

Juvenile

STONECHAT
seem not to far behind with a count of 18 youngsters in one of the

Solar Panel Compounds.

MANANA!

MADAGASCAR - Part IV

 There is no accounting for taste or the human trait as last Sunday's episode of

MADAGASCAR

only commanded the attention of 638 viewers while the bookend posts either side were well into the thousand, just where you are and what you are doing we guess?

Anyroad, another batch of goodies from the sensational second largest inhabited Island in the World!

Leaving the opulence of our hotel we headed for a well know site of one of the Islands sculkers

SCALY GROUND-ROLLER
worth every penny of the early rise and followed by more time in the

OUTBACK

BLUE COUA

CRESTED COUA
and to complet the hat-trick

RED-CAPPED COUA

diverse

Plant Life

and a 'second breakfast' should anyone want it, I'll only be able to eat 2 of those Paw-Paw.

The only Self Found claimed was this

MADAGASCAR NIGHTJAR
guarding its c2 eggs

so a few rapid shots of this real bonus and out of there!

"Taxi Sir?"

"No thanks we already have one but

the Driver is having a little difficulty getting it going"!

CHAMELEON

SNACKING

SUCKER-FOOTED BATS

WARD'S FLYCATCHER

BROWN MOUSE LEMUR
(they only come out at night)

The Home Territoy of

HUMBLOT'S HERON
and more

BAOBABs
before the rains came and where we found

COQUEREL's SIFAKA

GREATER VASA PARROT

SUB-DESERT BRUSH WARBLER
and

followed by the

EVENINGS ENTERTAINMENT
We hope to bring you more across the next 2 Sunday's - at least you have had Fair Warning!