The idea yesterday had been to
present the Weymouth flood photos in comparison with current shot when
the waters had receded, however that was before Mister Merlot showed his
hand. The extended, impromptu lunch was shared with a series of friends
showing up in a more or less continuous trickle and true to form once
it's GAME ON there is great difficulty pulling myself away!
I feel sure readers could have worked this out for themselves, but here are the comparisons anyway.
and The Gurkha Restaurant where I am told inside refurbishment and the construction of a new al fresco
area had only been completed the day before the deluge. Being a patron
of the restaurant I know just how hard the Nepalese Team there work, and
would strongly recommend a visit - you will receive a warm welcome.
Today
broke with an overcast sky, painting a dull picture across the Borough,
a brisk sou'westerly breeze and that lingering chill in the air, it was
nice to see SUMMER is continuing! Again the plan was to head for Ferry
Bridge to catch the first of the 'flood tide' in the hope of an early
migrant Wader or two, but as I left home the heavens opened forcing a
quick return. Funny how fate lends a hand, as had not Mr Merlot taken
the reigns yesterday it would have been a return to the archive for a
little eye-candy. As it was apart from the flood shots all other images
remained 'in the can'. so here they are:-
At
the Bridge things are now changing on a daily basis with the arrival of
this flock of Olympic Sailing Safety Boats, while over on the exposed
sand a single
MEDITERRANEAN GULL was still in attendance
along
with c2 Dunlin, c17 Ringed Plover plus singles of Oystercatcher and
Little Egret. It is of note that the newly hatched Little Terns are also
doing very well with parent birds carrying a continuous supply of
Sandeels from Portland Harbour to the Fleet. In addition, Latest News Portland Bird Obs reported an increase of Dunlin numbers to 10 along with a single Greenshank.
Returning
to the grassy verges of Portland Harbour every bird that could sing
seemed to be doing so including this young ROCK PIPIT
and a PIED WAGTAIL along with Skylark, Goldfinch, Linnet, Dunnock and Wren.
Olympic
Squadron had unfurled their sails. With few other birds to report and
another poor day for Butterflies it was again down to the Bird
Observatory Moth Traps to provide a little colour and excitement to both
myself and the readership.
BUFF FOOTMAN was a good capture as an infrequent but annual visitor to the Island,
while POPLAR HAWK-MOTH was representative of the larger insects.
DARK ARCHES are common with a good number in the traps today,
but the first appearance of GARDEN TIGER this year was represented by just a singleton.
Some confusion as to name could occur here as this is BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE
while this specimen is BROWN-LINE BRIGHT-EYE, at least that is if I've got it right!
SMOKY
WAINSCOT is also quite common and part of a fairly large family group,
it is hoped that later in the season we may see a couple more varieties
from this family.
I
would like to pass on an e-mail from my friend Nick Stantiford
requesting a little help from the readership regarding the Portland
Search and Rescue (SAR) Helicopter, so over to Nick.
Thanks Paul that will help so very much.
Don’t
really believe in divine intervention but due to the appalling
flooding in Dorset the Portland SAR crew flew 8 missions yesterday
between 09.00 and 20.00
assisting no fewer than 15 casualties. Yet still our great and glorious
Government insist that it’s a non-essential service that can be simply
cast aside, I suspect entirely in the name
of economics, whilst the bent ‘bankers’ exit stage left with payoffs
that would
fund our chopper for years to come. Funny old world!
Onwards and upwards
Nick
while
this Link relates to the day after Nick's dramatic rescue as
coincidentally reported on this Blog Tuesday 03/05/2011 and Wednesday
04/05/2011
I
have just added my weight to the petition, which we are both hoping you
will all sign, a very easy process to save a facility which in the past
may have saved Nick's life. Thank You all in anticipation - here's the
Link
http://bagsy-thecaptainslog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/lost-at-sea-rory-gallagher.html
and finally, this morning it was found that the United Kingdom readership reached a massive 60,223 as the United States hit the 6,000 mark.
THANKS
GO TO ALL OUR READERS IN THE HOPE THAT YOU WILL ALL SEND THE LINK TO
YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILIES AND FACEBOOK, WITTER, E-MAIL ADDRESSEES
| Num | Perc. | Country Name | |||
 | 60223 | 71.71% | United Kingdom |  | |
| 6026 | 7.18% | United States |  | |
| 1142 | 1.36% | Canada |  | |
| 923 | 1.10% | Australia |  | |
| 912 | 1.09% | Germany |  | |
| 786 | 0.94% | Estonia |  |
