Lazarus - Porcupine Tree

From the Album 'Deadwing'

LINK 

"Rainy days and Mondays NEVER get me down", but having reached the 17th day of the month without a single 'rain free' one are we not about due a dry spell? Despite the threat the traps were switched on with, given the time of year, not a bad return.

LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING

appeared to have drowned although there was little more than a tablespoon of water in the trap. Allowing 'mounting' with wings akimbo it was only after the photo shoot did it come back to life. In line with what has become the most annoying trait in the Wild World (let's humanise everything) we have called it Lazarus!

SATELLITE

BRICK

Part of the daily Mothing process necessitates circumnavigating
Harbins Farmhouse

where the plant-life is quite diverse. To the east there stands a combination of Elm, Hawthorn, Ivy, Silver Birch with a few unidentified Pines. Found to be very productive in the past (Firecrest, Yellow-browed Warbler, Wood Warbler et al) it is always considered best to linger a while with Saturday;s candidates including

BLUE TIT

plus c2 tardy/overwintering

CHIFFCHAFF

With a lull in the precipitation and even a chance of a little sunshine

(at least that's what it was thought to be - it's been awhile)
it was up to the Irrigation Pond where this

COMMON BUZZARD
was surveying the area. In close proximity Chaffinch have now reached well into 3 figures, with Goldfinch not far behind. c4 Bullfinch were in good voice at the new Gravel Pit along with the usual Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit. Almost at the northern extremity of PCF the 'flood plain', which used to be discernible as the Moors River, is now attracting a few Wildfowl including c8 Mallard and 40+

EURASIAN TEAL

Always alert and nervous it was best to view from the car.

Along this strip of predominantly damp Birch wood a weather-eye

is always kept for the likes of Siskin, Redpoll and especially Marsh Tit,

but just that short 'break' of raucous chattering alerted me to a male

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER

After regaining consciousness, I got out of the car, gathered the required equipment and simply stationed myself at a farm gate. Contentedly feeding for most of the time, it did flit from one to the other trees in close proximity occasionally letting out what I consider to be a Kestrel like alarm chatter?

Beyond privilege, to stand there for what must have been close to a hour just watching this tiny (no bigger than the humble House Sparrow) beautifully marked bird go about its business unruffled. What is now surely Dorset's rarest resident breeding bird, did make a couple of long sorties to other trees, some 50 to 60 yards away, but each time returned to the same clump. With those thoughts of scarce resident breeding birds in the County, it dawn on me that I was likely standing within viewing distance of another. Erecting the tripod and doing a quick telescope scan across the

Heath

no fewer than c3

DARTFORD WARBLER
were open to view.

To continue the theme of Scarce Resident Breeding Birds
one of just c4 Warbler species that readily 'overwinter' in Great Britain,
this is the 'second' most scarce. The attendant blue sky was short lived

 

and the rain had started again before we arrived at the banks of the
RIVER STOUR
There was found the recently returned

CETTI'S WARBLER
(absent, or at least not seen or heard, since April this year)

The rarest of the resident breeding Warblers.

This little beauty wasn't even part of British avifauna until the early 1970's.
(images taken from the archive)
So. that was a fairly dull Saturday??

but there was no compulsion to swing out of the hammock yesterday morning, despite being bright eyed and bushy-tailed, as once again it was hissing down. The Saturday night forecast had suggested the chance of an occasional light shower overnight, hence activating the Moth Traps, but this was of deluge proportions. Anyroad, at the very least there was a need to get over to Harbins and switch them off by which time there was a bit of a lull. Arrival was met by 'multi-honking' from the northern sky from where c7

MUTE SWANs
manifested themselves

 and by the looks of it, c2 adults along with c5 juveniles,
the right combination for the family group that had nested on
Parley Pond. Unfortunately, as previously reported, c2 of the younger
birds had 'fallen' to the power cables, since when they have been absent.
To the traps, and Yes Moths the first of which a

 BLAIR'S SHOULDER-KNOT
was just perched on the side. All else in trap No1 was a single

 

 RUSTY DOT PEARL
one of c5 migrant micros which it appears are still being caught in numbers
throughout the County - but there was another stirring from above.
This time the plaintive location call of a number of

 REDWING
a dozen or so of which were heading in the same direction as me!
Landing some distance away, the small camera was offered up more
more in hope than in anticipation, but at least we can see what it is!

DARK CHESTNUT

SMALL SQUARE-SPOT
The increasing drizzle was now starting to take its toll

 so much so this Moth was 'snapped' half a dozen times
before we realised it was 'tits up', just upside down not dead.

 CHESTNUT
the right way up.
 Doing the rounds of the Parley Pond a little later

 the were a few Familiar Faces

 and YES
The Prodigals had Returned.

 Seems they had met with a bit of
Swan Upping but only one of them being caught and 'ringed'.

A second visit to the north of the Farm found these
quite large

PUFFBALLS
despite assurances we haven't been brave enough to eat one yet!
To complete the photo album 3 images from Regular Readers.

Thysanoplusia daubei
is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in North and East Africa, 
Southern Europe,  Arabia, Turkey, Southern Iran to the 
Himalayas, India,  Indochina, China, Japan. (Wiki)
Lucky then that someone in Cornwall plucked one of these from 
their trap in the County. When verified it will be the first record for 
Great Britain.

SPANISH MOTH (South America)
No significance, only sent to us as an
Exceptionally Beautiful Creature - AGREED!

and last and certainly funniest, an image of a Customer Announcement at
Weymouth Railway Station, Dorset.
For those not familiar with this particular building, first designed by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
it is the End of the Line, Nowhere Else to Go, just the Buffers Ahead

EVERY TRAIN HAS TO 'CALL' AT THIS STATION
Mind the Gap!

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