Ride a White Swan - T Rex

 It's likely all the talk of dusk and dawn choruses that has brought the / a

TAWNY OWL
back into focus, a first of the Winter

as flashing-up at 23:00 last night and still at it while enjoying our morning coffee at 05:30.
Otherwise, no Moth action overnight, maybe due to the Zero° on the gauge, while our pals the

HOUSE SPARROWs

were at it even before the upper limb of the Sun kissed the horizon, while at the
Irrigation Pond it was found that the newly arrived family of

MUTE SWANs

had abandoned the cramped condition there for the wider expances of the

Gravel Pit while this lady

PHEASANT

along the now repaired fence-line gets a look-in as having been in the very same spot each morning for 2 weeks now - food must be plentiful,

while within

something of a real surprise

as we record very few, if any at all,

MISTLE THRUSHs

across the Winter months and also there a late but now rotting

PUFFBALL
Niether here, or across the southern section of our area, have we yet recorded a
Northern Thrush - Fieldfare / Redwing while seemingly plentiful elsewhere but we did spot ripening

MISTLETOE

which had us 'puckering up' in anticipation!
"We sould be so Lucky"!

Little Cock Sparrow - Nursry Rhyme

As previously reported the Dawn Chorus remains more or less nonexistant, save for the perpetual 'chirruping' of the local squadron of

HOUSE SPARROWs

along with a mighty lucky rendition

from a fly-over but unseen

CURLEW
followed at the break of day

across a clear blue sky a

Heli-lift Services
BELL ROTOCRAFT HELICOPTER
During those observations we also recovered c8

DECEMBER MOTHs

from the traps

but with one escapee not making the photo-call, while one of the local

GREY SQUIRRELs
was only to happy to become a 'stand in'.
Further afield, at the northern ponds, Wildfowl numbers continue to fluctuate with

GADWALL
numbers again reduced to c5 while occassionally being joined by a lone, but most striking male

TEAL

prepared to pose before conducting early morning ablutions,

before being joined by something of an infrequent visitor to these parts a male

TUFTED DUCK
Down south there seemed to have been something of an influx of

FINCHES

predominently

LINNETs
which were surely in the lower reaches of treble figures?

While finaly a new addition being installed outside of the Manor

Stag at Bay

Sir Edwin Landseer

Swan Song - Led Zeppelin

 A couple of days adrift, but fortunate given yesterday's foul weather, there has been the occassional report from the Dorset Bird Club website and from fellow enthusiasts, of the 'rare' Swan still visiting Longham Lakes and the adjoining Water Meadows sporadically, and nothing vital to keep us on home turf we thought it best to give it another try.

Hardly through the kissing gate this

GREAT WHITE EGRET
(scarce as only having established themselves in Great Britain in recent years)
flew in and landed almost at our feet and considered a

Good Omen.

Followed by what looked like an agitated

CORMORANT

A couple of high-flying Swans of the wrong flavour seemingly having left their

progeny (this years)
MUTE SWANs
to fend for themselves, while the next contender was beyond belief not ever having seen a

GOLDENEYE
on this reserve, while all else included a brace of fine looking juvenile

GREAT CRESTED GREBE
and a rather malformed

CANADA GOOSE
before arriving at the pathway that overlooks the
Hampreston Water Meadows
where there were thought to be Swans but only represented by the smallest of 'white dots' so distant were they. Using the camera as a telescope there looked to be one rather like the objest of our desire, but if we had walked away then it certainly would not have reached the pages of the notebook
Enter Stage Left My Saviour!

A gentleman with the very best of telescops allowed me a peek to confirm the suspicion of the

WHOOPER SWAN

a resident of the High Arctic during the warmer months and over-wintering across a large scattered area with us just on the westerly limits!

A most welcome end to yet another adventure but not closed until admitting that the images have been plucked from the archive, and more particularly our visit (with Dave Foot) to Suffolk last year.

PS

We almost forgot to add this clips

and a still of what may have been a second
GREAT WHITE EGRET

THANKS FOR TUNING IN!

Guantanamera - The Sandpipers

 Since the First of the Month and by definition the First of Winter when WE managed to coax c3 species of Moth into the traps ("yes we are claiming credit for that") there hasn't been another sniff until now! Nothing new but last night another couple of

DECEMBER MOTHs

paid us a visit before we headed north and paying a visit to this small tract of land

where over the last 3 months mechanical plant and other tools alike have been stowed, the security fencing left of picture, while major maintainance has been underway across a number of the Solar Panel Compounds. Now completed, we did spend a bit of time surveying the area and considered this has to be an ideal location for any self respecting Wading Bird? We didn't have to wait long!
Continuing the rounds at both Ponds there were less Waterfowl than the previous day but still the

IRRESISTABLE c2

STONECHAT
juvenile looking

and just look at those claws!

A young looking male type

with similar appendages and both at the
Sewerage Works

in company with this sun-soaked,

Gaping and Chattering
ROBIN
There was no way we were going to overlook the afore mentioned land on the way back, and immediatly found movement close to one of the puddles, but only a

MEADOW PIPIT
but a little more patience

proved profitable

when finding this

COMMON SANDPIPER

only concerned with feeding

while we took full advantage!

Adrian, the Land Manager and David the RES Maintanance Foreman have untertaken to place these redundant Cable Drums at the edges of the Woodland hopefully to be found useful to nesting or roosting small Birds, which they used to do similarly in other parts of the property!

There was however a Part II to the day which involved something of a
Mini Local Twitch
which we will use as padding for tomorrow's Post in case things dry-up for us!

WE DO HOPE OUR HOST OF NEW READERS ARE ENJOYING THE GIG,
AND INFORMING THEIR FRIENDS!
"MANY, MANY THANKS"

Clutching at Straws - Marillion

 A more than recommended Album, along with Misplaced Childhood, who's title adequately describes the day, with the first straw to be clutched being the Micro Moth

RUSTY DOT PEARL
which is one of only a very few that we can recogise and the only Insect on parade! Up north there were little signs of life with the inanimate being represented by our pal from the

 from the land of the

Land of the Crooked Spire and a Little Mirth
CHESTERFIELD

with yet another 'high freeboard load' of Fence Panels.

The first, and almost last of the

WILD THINGs
(The Trogs)
was this preening

MEADOW PIPIT
before returning once again to the inanimate!

The striking line of

OAK TREES

boardering the Moors River

along with yet another 'faller'.

Along the return track a small flock of
SISKIN

already tucking into the winter groceries.

All else amounted to just this small herd of

ROE DEER

(of course we've heard of Roe Deer) taking advantage of the Maize Stubble at 18-Acre.