Dodo (from the 'Abacab' album) - Genesis

Why not just hand the Planet over to the DESTROYERS?

Too big to fly, Dodo ugly so Dodo must die,
Doggo with fear on its side, can't change, can't change the tide.
Dog baiter, agitator, asking questions, says he wants to know why.
Ain't no reason that money can't buy.
Mink he pretty so mink he must die, must die, must die.

Fish he got a hook in his throat, Fish he got problems
Where does he go, what does he do?
Does he hope he's too small, to poor a haul,
Who'll end up being thrown back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.

These 2 Grey Herons flying to the north, high above the cemetery, greeted me on yet another sunny and warm Summer-like day, with good news awaiting me across the by-pass.

Yesterday's pneumatic drilling and industrial digging was not enough to deter our stalwart

Robin from tending its family, and I was pleased to hear Steve Morris's report of the days events.

Personally, he had completed a full daylight vigil to protect the Robins from the Borough Council's VANDALS, feeding them throughout the day, but no one from that organisation showed up, as promised, to assess the situation.

Robin is not the only concern here as many other birds also use this area to breed, including the Chiffchaff this morning singing its heart out, and also

Lesser Whitethroat that now seem to have taken up territory for another year.

Such a difficult bird to see, these images are taken from the archive to illustrate what a beauty it really is. In the glow of the morning sun, even the most common birds looked great

with just a small representation of the large number of Canada Geese deserving of a shot, and

Tufted Duck similarly.

Up on Portland, the Circus is in town and will be here until 25th April, while alighting the bus at Barleycrates Lane, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler and another Grasshopper Warbler were all in good voice.

Half way along the path to the cliff my first Whinchat of the year hove into view,

with no fewer than 6 already congregated in the same field.

another of my Spring favourites there were yet more,

3 to be precise and bringing the total to 9, at Reap Lane.

There was even more of a surprise as I took a look over the cliff, to see a total of 25 Eider seemingly content to rest on the sea, comprising one adult male, 9 'eclipse' males plus 15 female types. This was not only my first sight of an adult male Eider in Dorset, but also the largest concentration for me in the county.

Ever onward to the Observatory with little else to report, but there Ron 'Chunky' King along with his band of marauders, had taken up temporary residence, something of an annual occurrence! Great to see you all once again.

An impromptu shot of one of many Swallows arriving today, while

among the dense vegetation that is Culverwell, I found an obliging Lord & Lady.

To complete my day, it was a couple of pints in The Swan and a meeting with several friends not seen for a while, including Dugger & Mary Harding who were my next door neighbours when I lived on Portland. The conversation was a little restrictive only moving from the North American Indians, through firing a multitude of weapons in Vietnam, to drinking Potcheen (which Dugger and I often did) and eating Whale meat in Greenland so I look forward to changing the subject next time we meet! Val & Alan Watts were also there, who have managed to secure a little present for me which we will talk about tomorrow, so till then - Good Hunting!

The GB Year List reached a 'landmark' 230 today

Followed by an update on the Stats:-

	Num	Perc.	Country Name
	8023	76.41%	United Kingdom
	508	4.84%	United States
	238	2.27%	Estonia
	190	1.81%	Netherlands
	157	1.50%	France
	147	1.40%	Spain
	129	1.23%	Canada
	115	1.10%	Germany
	83	0.79%	New Zealand
	81	0.77%	Sweden
	51	0.49%	Japan
	47	0.45%	Australia
	45	0.43%	India
	43	0.41%	Russian Federation
	38	0.36%	Italy
	31	0.30%	Belgium
	28	0.27%	Thailand
	27	0.26%	Poland
	24	0.23%	Brazil
	21	0.20%	Finland
	20	0.19%	Hungary
	20	0.19%	Mexico
	18	0.17%	Portugal
	18	0.17%	Hong Kong
	17	0.16%	Denmark
	15	0.14%	Peru
	15	0.14%	Serbia
	14	0.13%	Colombia
	14	0.13%	Europe
	13	0.12%	Romania
	13	0.12%	Czech Republic
	13	0.12%	Ireland
	12	0.11%	Dominican Republic
	12	0.11%	Philippines
	11	0.10%	Isle Of Man
	11	0.10%	Turkey
	11	0.10%	Norway
	10	0.10%	Singapore
	10	0.10%	Ecuador
	10	0.10%	South Africa
	10	0.10%	Greece
	10	0.10%	Bulgaria
	9	0.09%	Korea, Republic Of
	9	0.09%	Croatia
	9	0.09%	Malta
	9	0.09%	Indonesia
	8	0.08%	Malaysia
	8	0.08%	Ukraine
	7	0.07%	Argentina
	7	0.07%	Austria
	7	0.07%	Jordan
	6	0.06%	Guernsey
	5	0.05%	United Arab Emirates
	5	0.05%	Chile
	5	0.05%	Switzerland
	5	0.05%	Vietnam
	4	0.04%	Taiwan
	4	0.04%	Sri Lanka
	4	0.04%	Moldova, Republic Of
	4	0.04%	Pakistan
	3	0.03%	Latvia
	3	0.03%	Iceland
	3	0.03%	Venezuela
	3	0.03%	China
	3	0.03%	Trinidad And Tobago
	3	0.03%	Mauritius
	2	0.02%	Saudi Arabia
	2	0.02%	Anonymous Proxy
	2	0.02%	Yemen
	2	0.02%	Egypt
	2	0.02%	Macedonia
	2	0.02%	Belarus
	2	0.02%	Luxembourg
	2	0.02%	Slovakia
	2	0.02%	Oman
	2	0.02%	Aruba
	2	0.02%	Israel
	2	0.02%	Kazakhstan
	2	0.02%	Zimbabwe
	1	0.01%	Qatar
	1	0.01%	Tanzania, United Republic Of
	1	0.01%	Bahamas
	1	0.01%	Costa Rica
	1	0.01%	Puerto Rico
	1	0.01%	Virgin Island, U.s.
	1	0.01%	Slovenia
	1	0.01%	Bangladesh
	1	0.01%	Tunisia
	1	0.01%	Iraq
	1	0.01%	Uruguay
	1	0.01%	Barbados
	1	0.01%	Lebanon
	1	0.01%	Georgia
	1	0.01%	Bosnia And Herzegovina
	1	0.01%	Lithuania
	1	0.01%	Morocco
	1	0.01%	Gabon