Zero to Hero

 With Sunday night’s Zero temperature having rocketed to +16°C on Monday and certainly not hampered by 8 Oktas of cloud cover with little or no wind, surely this was going to be ‘The Night’? 

A little slow around the homestead before we set off but it's a seriously bad day if there is nothing at all to report with a fly over

RAVEN

seemingly carrying a Rat so its day also starting well.

Haveing decided to attend to the Heath traps firstly the usual stops were made en-route with 'music to the ear' coming from the now overgrown

Overspill Pit at the Irrigation Pond, the

WATER RAIL

was back at its Winter Quarters. Not to say that it has always been the same bird, but at least one has been doing so since 2015 but in all that time no more than a brief glimpse has been seen during those years. A secretive little bird with a 'piglet' like call / song.

The first Moth and contender for addition to the Year List wasn’t in the trap at all, only perched lethargically on the collar, while it doesn’t come a lot better than......

MERVEILLE du JOUR  

but more particularly when presented in tandem with a sharply contrasting,

caught on a number of occassions across the Autumn thus far,
BORDERED BEAUTY
Settling In,

it's a Heavy Load but somebodies got to do it, there was plenty else of interest.

Looking at the coming weather picture we might start crrying the umberella around with us!

GREEN-BRINDLED CRESCENT

was also added to the Year list

as was the rather similar

BRINDLED GREEN

bringing up the 370th species of Macro Moth for 2020. 

Otherwise

COSMOPOLITAN
was of interest as were 2 examples of  the variable

COMMON MARBLED CARPET

not remembering ever haveing seen the lower 'melanistic' example?

Away from the Moths a 

GIANT DIVING BEETLE 

was also caught and during the process we had a third day of tree tapper's with today's featuring

a hunting

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER
Across the now almost completely

GOLDEN BROWN HEATH

dotted with the remnants of

HEATHER FLOWERS

and 

DWARF GORSE
there were very few Birds but what were about were unusual,

SKYLARK

was only the second to invade this air-space but breeds on the adjoining airfield, while

SONG THRUSH

is equally uncommon but plentiful elsewhere.

A welcome surprise involved what must have bee a couple of hundred

GOLDFINCH

to mobile and numerous to even think about counting while a nearby

WREN

wasn't hanging about to make a
Full Feature Film!

Finally, an absolute corker from Paul Harris in Weymouth

TIGER CRAHEFLY
never seen the likes of that before, what a beauty!

The Geese and the Ghost - Anthony Phillips

 The 04:30 +4°C only lasted as far as the Heath this morning where it was at a rock bottom ZERO, but we get a little ahead of ourselves. 

At ‘lighting up time’ last night

 

a second occurrence of exactly the same as the night before when just a single

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE 

was seen on the main track across the Heath then, unusually, took to the wing and flew until it was out of sight. Usually reluctant to fly at all these were the first and second times we have ever seen them do so here!

Even before stepping outside the singing and calling of a lone

CHIFFCHAFF

could be heard but not for long as this

Augusta Westland Helicopter representing
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Service
thundered overhead. More familiar calls from the banks of the River Stour were investigated

to find c2, as ever quarralling,
EGYPTIAN GEESE on the far bank. 

At the Gravel Pit only a reminder of yet another Genesis lyric

Inside, a long rose-water pool is shrouded by fine mist
Stepping in the moist silence, by a warm breeze he's gently kissed
Thinking he is quite alone
he enters the room, as if it were his own
But ripples on the sweet pink water reveal some company un-thought of!

as c2 more Geese of a different species were seen on the way to the Moth Traps, this time

GREYLAGs
The collective from the traps didn't amount to much, and certainly nothing new but 

Best in Show ammounted to

DEEP BROWN DART

L-ALBUM WAINSCOT 

along with a

DARK SWORD-GRASS
While sorting what few Insects there were today's 'tappings' did in fact eminate from a

NUTHATCH

and not yesterday's Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
and a little later in the game it was found that either

the same

SWALLOWs

No, we are not going to bury you 'neck-deep' in images again!

had stayed over, or replaced with another small flock?
It was also plain to see that with no signs of the Kestrel today the

MEADOW PIPITs

had also broken cover again.
STAY SAFE and THANKS FOR TUNING IN!