Friday 20 March 2020

Alright Me Duck

Returning to Sunday for just the briefest of moments,
by the time we got back to base it looked as if there were at least a couple more hours
of dry weather left before the predicted 'wet afternoon' kicked in'?
Oh how wrong you can be!
The reasoning was another rare vagrant Duck on 
Longham Lakes
which had been giving most of its would be viewers a right old run around,including myself.
However, having been reported sheltering on the largest island of the southern watercourse
that was surely as good a strating point as any.
It could have been amazing had it not been for the now 35 knot wind and some light drizzel,
but as that increased to a full blow deluge, that was the very moment the bird was spotted!
Deja Vous????
Consigned to the note book and personnally "wet as a Cormorant" these
Clicks and Clips
bear no resemblace of what was witnessed on the day, in fact they were secured on
April Fool's Day 2017 at Pitlochry, Perthshire, Bonny Scotland
as part of an extended weekend's Wildlifing in the company of Dave Foot.
 RING-NECKED DUCK
The 'ring' to which the name referes can be clearly seen at the base of the neck 
on the last 2 images.
Additionally and as an aside, our first landlady kindly allowed us to run a
Moth Trap
in which we caught a number of
RANNOCH SPRAWLER
a Moth  not seen by myself before.
 Monday satrted as usual with a visit to both
Moth Traps
and finding among just c6 Insects c2 whch were new for the year.
 OAK BEAUTY
 and the far less glamerous
 COMMON QUAKER
but they all count.

While the situation regarding the virus is serious enough
my stance is the philosophical one and take heed of a quip uttered by
Dairyman Dick in the fantastic Thomas Hardy novel
Tess of the d’Urbervilles
'Tis comfortable enough here for rough folk; but we don't live in a cowcumber frame.”
Dairyman Dick
All the week:
On Sundays Mister Richard Crick.

So, the rest of the day was taken up mostly with a re-visit to what was once my hometown
WEYMOUTH
 but before visiting friends there the pull was too strong to drive past
 MAIDEN CASTLE
 one of Europe's largest and most complex
Hill Forts
 There, before Prince Charles came along and built his carbunkle of a 'squat'
there were once many hundreds of Golden Plover decent numbers of Yellowhammer,
Grey Partridge etc, All that was found on the day were a few
Mediterranean Gulls and singles of
 SKYLARK
(first in Dorset for me)
and
 CORN BUNTING
(first for 2020)
with both being vocal despite being a little in the gloom.
At my destination it was found to be both warm enough and
sunny enough to enjoy out coffee in the garden, but that was not all!
In very quick succession c3 species of
BUTTERFLY
graced the already blooming flower beds including
 PEACOCK
 BRIMSTONE
and
 COMMA
 all 'first for the year' as a family group and as individual species.