The Bagsy Blog: Lark's Tongues in Aspic

Saturday, 26 September 2020

Lark's Tongues in Aspic - King Crimson

An album that has some association with our home county of Dorset as prime mover with King Crimson - Robert Fripp was born in Wimbourne Minster, Dorset, married songstress Toyha Willcox who together still live in the county as far as we know? Additionally, band member Gordon Haskell was known to me and met occassionally when gigging in Weymouth. Considered the pinnacle of their career, which in my own humble opinion pales by comparison with

'In the Court of the Crimson King'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsW--Sh7YE

The ‘weather forecaster’ delivered us a real curved ball for Tuesday overnight’s prediction with bouts of heavy rain, gusty winds and a temperature in single figures. On the strength of that we abandoned the Heath Moth Trap only to find at dawn, no more than 1.5 mm, hardly a light zephyr and the mercury settled at +16°C!

A Moment Lost! but we are buffing up on the Trades Description Act.

Nothing new from those closer to home with the more eye-catching including:-

BRIMSTONE MOTH

GREEN CARPET

along with the mainly immigrant (unless that has changed while my back was turned?)

VESTAL

with these darker speciments orriginating from the near continent, or even home grown,

while the more pale from futher afield.

It did look rather threatening, but came to nought until the afternoon, and before leaving we recorded the first autumnal

CETTI'S WARBLER

on our beat of the River Stour which flows just a matter of a few yards from the bottom of the garden. Usually a breeding bird here, there have been no sighs of such in 2020 in fact the Spring only produced a single vocalist! This was followed by a generally common bird which is, surprisingly, about as scarce as the predecessor an adult

DUNNOCK

with a fledgeling
we'll be able to get on our way in a minute but not before

it was dicovered that our close neighbours, the

WOOD PIGEON'S,

in the Holm Oak next to Slight Return II, are 'at it' again for the 5th time this year!

The GADWALL at the Gravel Pit

(female) were certainly showing off completely clear of the water

but flushed back

on our approach. Also there were what are considered to be both

LITTLE GREBE

parent birds, today seemingly chastising the juvenile by chasing it endlessly around the pond! In addition a couple of prime looking adult

MOORHEN

(is there time for another brood?

with both species seemingly happy to intermingle and again the displaced

STONECHAT

was closeby. No reason for it not being as the habitat is as good as any but seems strange to have one at this particular spot.

Next came something of a minor emergency as up ahead and on the bridleway were c3 rather frisky and mightily fast moving (so much so we were only able to 'click' 2 of them)

HORSES

escaped from the northern paddock. Never inconvienienced to look out for such things (including the rare-breed Cattle, Sheep and rare-breed Goats) it is always a pleasure to alert the owners to such a moment and capture, by way of reward, a

COMMON BUZZARD

After an hour or so on what seemed to be an uncannily quiet Heath it was as, Genesis once sang, "It's One 'o' Clock and time for lunch, dum de dum de dum"! As the Sun beats down I lie on the bench, you can always hear them talk, 'cus me I'm just a Lawnmower you can tell me by the way I walk

(I know what I like in your Wardrobe)

but not before checking out those familiar vocals from the south east corner. Coming from every direction Woodlark often prefer to sing from a vantage point (which may only be in Spring?) but they were a full 20 minutes in the sighting. Again difficult to know how many, they were again considered to be in excess of a dozen, all on the ground feeding and not 'blinking a lid' at the mobile vantage point. If anyone knows a better Bird Hide than the common or garden motor car, please let us know! Not knowing quite which images and videos to post we have decided on the whole jolly lot!

YOU CAN STOP if and or YOU JOLLY WELL LIKE!