My Dustbin's FULL of Toadstools

How do you know it's full? 'Cus there's not Mushroom inside!

Lonnie Donagan - My Old Man's a Dustman

With things still not happening as they should at this time of year,

it was again time to lean on Dave and employ his suggestion of a little

Ground Bait!

A cocktail of boiled Demerara Sugar in Red Wine was sure to do the trick,

so before lighting-up time the concoction was sprayed on  

tree trunks, wooden gates and fence posts alike!

Question is, "why didn't I just stay at home and drink it myself??

Nowhere near the success rate of the privious night, there was nothing to add to the list

but there were as ever a few

Eye Catchers!

 CANARY-SHOULDERED THORN

GREEN CARPET

 and

 ROSY FOOTMAN

Into the Great Wide Open

under the skies of blue, out in the great wide open a Rebel without a clue!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

We found maybe the harbiger of the much hoped for Autumn influx, on the 

Main Pond.

It has happened before and will doubtless happen again that a lone female

 WIGEON

 landed there

 making for our 109th Bird Species of the year across the

Recording Area.

At the same site was an unusually bold

GREY HERON

simply wandering along the metalled road with this clip

showing just how bold 

as close passing traffic was of no concern!

The luck continued as we reached the Gravel Pit where another 'inbound'

was located, a

COMMON SNIPE

which is generally as the name suggests

 but here 

something of a scarcity.

 This being only the 3rd

found here this year!

 It was of some note and interest that one of the anglers had caught a small

 TENCH

as we keep records of all 'wild' things here.

Additionally on the Pit there was also 'the' male

GADWALL

 in company this time with one of the

LITTLE GREBE's

 but no signs of the female and also looking nervous.

 it didn't stay long as the clip shows.

Also there was a cracking

 GREY WAGTAIL

also thought to be a returning bird as there has been no sign right across the

Breeding Season!

 A good deal more activity on the 

Heath

today than yesterday as the almost depleted

 STONECHAT's

started making a welcome return

 without knowing whether these are longer distant migrants or those which may

 spend the winter here?

 Once we get onto the barbed wire theme there really is no stopping us

as thinking such a perch to be aesthetically perfect for both

ROBIN

and 

WHEATEAR

alike!

 Not surprisingly

CHIFFCHAFF

 are still knocking about with the occassional

 Juvenile

and

 SONGSTER

 While checking out the

 PUFF-BALLS
(some as big as yer head)

 which numbered c2 'tennis ball' size 10 days ago

which have now become 2 x footballs along with c6 tennis balls while the

CARRION CROWs

have been up to their usual and eating them.

While we have recorded Nightjar on the Heath during a number of successive

Septembers we usually keep something of a special eye out for them as likely the last we will

again until next year. A slow drive acoss the Heath, on full spotlight, usually has the desired effect

but not so last night. Content in the fact that there should be another crack of the whip we happily

flashed up the traps and headed towards a decent glass of Port - 'medicinal' of course, but we were delayed. There, just outside of the gates to the farmhouse and no more that 30 yards

from my own abode, there sat, right out of habitat, a

NIGHTJAR

Will this prove to be the last one of the year, either way it seems to have been 

a GREAT year for them??

PS - the 'Moth Cocktail' didn't work either but doubtful it will be the last time we try!