Fire Brigade - The Move

Cast your mind back ten years to a girl who sits with me in school.
If I put my hand upon her leg she'd hit me with a rule.
Though tomorrow wont be long you're gonna have to play it cool.
You've been fascinated by her, she could set the place on fire
Run and get the Fire Brigade!

Saturday is always good for an early start at the Bill, with no restriction on the 'bus pass' and an early service to boot. Crossing the road close to the bus stop, the fire alarm sounded and I was well placed to time the response which turned out to be just 88 seconds from bell to departure of the fire engine.

Departure of the Weymouth Brigade. The hope was to record a Storm Petrel but arriving at the Obs all that had been seen were a few Manx Shearwaters, but nevertheless it was worth a walk to the Obelisk to capitalise on this. Unfortunately, it was a case of usual fare except for my own 3 Manx there were just

a few Fulmar, Guillemots, Razorbill, a few Kittiwake.

and this intrepid yachtsman who seemed to be shaping up for Brixham,

It was then just a case of a few practice shots at anything that turned up, which included this Gannet quite close to shore,

and a juvenile Herring Gull with the rest of the photographs not making the cut! So back to the Observatory where the Warden had already monitored the night's catch in the moth traps allowing the rest of us a chance to swat up on our identification skills.

Cream-spot Tiger was one of the easier ones, while

White Point is an insect I never captured during my 15 years of trapping.

Shoulder-striped Wainscot a reed-bed species has to be a good record this far away from its habitat,

while a Yellow Belle might be considered 'usual'!

Marbled Minor is also common

as are Dark Arches

and Heart & Dart.

A little less so might be Purple Bar,

while Setaceous Hebrew Character (my most favourite name of all of the Moths) is also commonly caught.

On my walk home this Weevil, that looks like Otiorhynchus aequatus, according to my Field Guide, was a great sighting with

lots of Bramble (Blackberry) growing close by.

Three full days to 'take-off', so still time to tell your pals about the upcoming adventure!