Sugar, Sugar - The Archies

Since the finding of the Woodlark on Tuesday last, quite a bit of time has been spent around the Merritown Heath area, with neither the Lark or a 'dreamed of' Great Grey Shrike being seen. However, it has been by no means dull as a 'drumming' Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has been heard, a fourth pair of Treecreeper for the property located, the highest total this year of c8 Stock Dove recorded, c6 'fly-over' Crossbills plus a single pair each of Ravan and Stonechat. c37 transiting Lapwing caused a bit of a stir as it was thought they might be returning to 18 Acre, but no they decided not to linger. Tuesday night likely qualified for the mildest, temperature wise, of 2015 so a single Trap was run. Not a Moth to be seen but among the dozen or so Brown Dung Flies there was singles of

OPHION OBSCURATUS

The Spider

STEATODA GROSSA

and another much smaller

HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD

also covered in some kind of cotton/wool as was the other.

Goldberg, the Solar Panel Contractors, have requested any images

associated with the recently completed works for their 'archive'. 

There are a few that have already 'seen the light of day' through these pages.

GREY WAGTAIL

is now added to that collection.

REDWING

are still numerous here, seemingly in every hedgerow at tree-top.

It is thought the total for the property, including the flock of some 200+

on Merritown Heath, has to be in the region of 500?

ROE DEER

have also increased in numbers over the past year.

Now there's a thing, this male

GOLDCREST

holding territory in the small, mixed woodland behind the Manor House

has been displaying off and on since the beginning of the year.

Up until yesterday I had been unable to get the camera focused on it,

but for whatever reason (pishing was tried) it decided to put on a

Personal Display for me!

Around the corner is the stable yard and with so much easily sourced 

food there is always a decent selection of the more common species.

 male

BLACKBIRD

along with male

CHAFFINCH

followed by a male Horse.

This is ARCHIE

the mount of Tasha Jones one of PCF 'resident' riders.

Passing by, she saw the camera and asked if I'd snap Archie,
which I was only too pleased to do. Hope to see you both again soon.
Up at Gibbet Firs

BADGERS

were paying no heed to Historic Earthwork as it seems they may

be contemplating a new SETT on the Bronze Age Tumulus.

The view over the Solar Panels from the top of the Earthworks.

(seemed like a good idea at the time?)

and looks like the Wood Pigeons have been lowering their guard,

2 'kills' in as many paces.

GRAVEL EXTRACTION

has now resumed at the North End of the Farm

making a start on the New Golf Course in the south.

Water levels are not helping as this is the highest they have been since

the Pit was first excavated.

Mister's MOLE

have been extremely busy around the Solar Panels and

at the back of Eco.

Revered by the Jacobite's they aren't causing any problem at these locations.

In 1702, William III died of pneumonia, a complication from a broken collarbone following a fall from his horse, Sorrel. Because his horse had stumbled into a Mole's burrow, many Jacobite's toasted "the Little Gentleman in the Black Velvet Waistcoat." Years later, Sir Winston Churchill, in his A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, stated that the fall "opened the door to a troop of lurking foes^". William was buried in Westminster Abbey alongside his wife. His sister-in-law, Anne, became Queen Regnant of England, Scotland and Ireland.

 and finally, a contribution from a Regular Readers recent visit to

Rodden Hive on the Fleet near Langton Herring.

BARNACLE GEESE

(foreground)

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Yesterday - The Beatles

Just 'plodding around' comes nowhere near describing my daily activities across the length and breadth of the 1,000 acres or so of Parley Court Farm. The anticipation of what might be round the next corner builds as the wander continues, and whether that be 'rare' or 'common' the excitement remains the same. The unseasonably mild conditions of yesterday lent themselves to a comfortable walk, while cloud cover eliminated glare and no more than a gentle zephyr certainly helped with running eyes, it was just about perfect - bring on the wildlife!

While well aware of the small 'stand' of 5 Fir-type trees at the centre of the Southern Sector of the property since the early days of visiting here, until now nothing had been done to identify them. Out with the Canon, open the E-mail account, send to John Gifford and Robert is your Father's Brother,

 NORWAY SPRUCE
and thought, because of their scruffy appearance, to be 50+ years old.
Moving rapidly on to another section of 'mixed' woodland where access has been
limited during the erection of the Solar Panel Farm an abundance of

RAZOR STROP FUNGI
was found along with a new one to me

 the Bracket Fungi
 INONOTUS HISPIDUS
which I am informed prefers Ash as a 'host' but feel sure this is on Oak.

Another revelation was to find

ASPEN
there as well which, as far as is known, is the only patch of this
species 'strictley' on PCF land?
 There is however a thriving copse of it on Merritown Heath,
which is included in My Patch, which is hoped will produce the Moth
Lead-coloured Drab
later in the year.
The Irrigation Pond (IP) has been devoid of most Wildlife in recent days,
so joy yesterday when a pair of

MALLARD
male

and female
were found there, but not as much JOY as when reaching
Merritown Heath.
Only half way across a familiar but all to infrequent bird song was heard,

which seemed to emanate from the direction of Bournemouth International Airport.

The birds here seem to pay scant attention to the noise of the jets
so the target bird was soon located on an old hard-standing and was
little perturbed by my approach.

WOODLARK

is a resident breeding bird in the County but 'local' and not at all numerous.

It may be remembered by regular reader that a single was seen briefly
on the Heath late Autumn last year, but did not linger.

This individual was quite to the contrary although very mobile in a small area,

was mostly on the ground at very close quarters, was feeding veraciously
and vocal throughout the observation period.

A short clip of video which includes the 'song'.
Hope it plays better on your machine than this infernal thing!
A similar visit on Sunday found a minimum of c7 Dartford Warbler,
with a possible further 3 'heard', but no Stonechat. Yesterday there were none
of the Warblers seen but a couple of
 
 STONECHAT
 
did put in an appearance.
It would be tempting too much providence to drive past the IP

where on the return journey the 'local' family of
MUTE SWANs
had arrived, minus one of the juveniles. Good to see them again and thought
deserving of a scoop of Barley!

At the same time the 'monthly' inspection was made of the
8 sheets of metal laid to attract hibernating
Reptiles and/or Amphibians.

Again it was only NEWTS that were in residence, which

had increased in numbers from 17 to 21.

Thus far they had not been 'possitively' identified but

from their first appearance were considered to be

SMOOTH (Common) NEWT

I am informed that confirmation is more accurate when the underparts

are examined, so a very quick and gentle 'snap'

was taken confirming previous thoughts.

Arriving back at Harbins Farmhouse, this

LITTLE EGRET

was simply stood stationary, no more than a few yards away,
at the side of Parley Pond.

Little ruffled by my approach in the car an opportunity was taken

to loose off a few shots.

Most obliging it went through a series of contortions

making for what was considered to be

an interesting series of images.

While most of the days encounters had been of the 'close' kind

it was left to this male

KESTREL
to break the duck. A closer view was attempted but........

To end a most exciting day, mid-afternoon c2

McDONNALL DOUGLAS F15 EAGLE
All Weather Tactical Fighter Aircraft

took off from Bournemouth International Airport
Our THANKS go once again to John Gifford for his 'invaluable' help.

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