I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King

under my feet

I see the sky tumbling down.

With overnight temperatures remaining in double figures (12°C last night) this mornings rummage through the Traps was infused with anticipation. Unfortunately nothing new to add to either list, but an eclectic selection of some most attractive Moths plus one or two others.

 COMMON MARBLED CARPET

 BEAUTIFUL HOOK-TIP

 a 'dark' version of the most attractive

FROSTED ORANGE

 LARGE WAINSCOT

along with 2 'shade' variations of

 BRINDLED GREEN

 BLACK RUSTIC

 TURNIP MOTH

 and what is now the most numerous each morning

SQUARE-SPOT RUSTIC

 Still plugging away at the Micros, I am sure one of my Mentors will

be quick to correct me if this is not

AGONOPTERIX YEATIANA

DOLICHOPODID FLY

(kindly identified for us by John Gifford)

who tells me that this is a female, the male having 'white dots' at the tips 

of the wings to attract a mate - rather like the Nightjar me thinks!

Not a new sight for me but both

 GIANT DIVING BEETLE

and

 POLLEN BEETLE

should be familiar to our regular readers.

We thought on 'size difference' alone they were worthy of

inclusion on today's Post.

 It is a few months now since the c8 Mute Swan eggs hatched and to date all of the Cygnets appear to have been in fine fettle. It was Saturday that the first of these took to the wing and with a parent bird in attendance each flexed their wings and while in flight let out a continuous high pitched 'peep'.

When flying operation finished on that day only c7 of the young returned to base, while today that figure fell to c6 and it didn't take long to find out why. Every year young Swans fledged both here on Parley Pond and on this stretch of the River Stour collide, fatally, with power cables but little or nothing is being done to resolve the situation.

 But Get This! The Service Providers in charge of the offending cables are more than willing to provide and rig Aviation Marker Balls or Bird Diverters, but there was such a 'local' HULLABALOO about cutting the power while such works take place that they have never been rigged. In this rural part of Dorset most go around claiming to be 'Country Folk' but in truth I can only think their knowledge and experience of Wildlife comes from being glued to the Idiot's Lantern night after night complaining of the Morons responsible for poaching Rhinoceros Horn or pumping Bear Bile! Moan over, so to continue with an

 EARTH MOVING EXPERIENCE

While work continues on back-filling the North Pond this huge pile of

fertile earth is being levelled next to the Irrigation Pond in readiness to 

become a horse paddock.

With the blessing of Lord Lawney and Hugh I have been keeping a sharp eye on these operations which, it should be said, are being carried out in a sympathetic, professional and very speedy way. By the end of the week all should be completed but during the interim I have been given something of a free-hand to develop, this Pond at least, into a mini Nature Reserve.

My thoughts are that most of what is here should remain untouched, but to 'scrape' some of the margins may encourage more Wading Birds (such as the Green Sandpipers) to frequent this site?

 As work continues it has now been agreed that the small

 Subsidiary Pond

should not be back-filling as was the original intention.

 Thought on Wild Flower Seeds are already well advanced,

 while a little more light gravel is planned for the area between the soil and the watercourses.

 What is to happen to the very large hole left after extraction of
material to in-fill the North Pond is yet to be discovered but

 COLLARED DOVE

and a 

Grey Heron 

have already been noted prospecting.

 The Bulldozer did break down this morning so there was opportunity 

a chat with one of the lorry drivers. A very pleasant personality came in the form of

Hungarian 

BALINT KISS

 'Kiss' for short commands excellent English, fine conversation and came

over as a very nice person.

Good to Meet You Sir!

 Don't panic I'm only letting off a Distress Flare.

 My visits to see The Secret Lemonade Drinker are always awash

with interesting things to see and at my last, a couple of weeks ago,
he produced this

Webley and Scott
VERY PISTOL

used to fire a Flare/Signal often in the event of an emergency.

During my time at sea I must have fired one of these about half a dozen times

but never for the reason stated above.

and finally, we leave you with the Gods not quite on our side

as this morning I found the remaining area of aggregate at the 

Hurn Gravel Pit

being 'covered' by yet another

Earth Moving Experience!

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