Hazy Shade of Winter - Simon and Garfunkle

For the sake of continuity all Moth records are dated from the evening on which the Traps are fired up so, by the time we post this the traps of the First Day of the Month are as yet to be attended.

It is on such a day, the first of the month, that in the past we would have undertaken a Day Twitch, that is to say race around intending to see as many species as possible within our patch but the number of Moths has put paid to that but we may resurect on New Year's Day? Otherwise this Post does reprsent the first day of the month except for the Moths which are the late residue from November!

There was no surprise as to the first Bird of tis end of the Winter, in fact we had been waiting for it, as having seen and heard them a couple or 3 weeks ago across the northern section, that it should have been the ‘chacking’ of a number of

FIELDFARE

in the riverside Ash trees that should herald both the New Month and New Season.

However, you won't be seeing the likes of this in Dorset or even the rest of
Great Britain - nesting Fieldfare Estonia 2010.

A misty start at daybreak which took some time to clear with the

OLD CURRENT BUN
being hampered by low cloud eventually opened up to a few Moths

CHESTNUT

RED-GREEN CARPET

FEATHERED THORN
along with another

SATTELITE
surely we are getting close to the end of it?
Had we been carrying out a Twitch we would certainly have capitalised at the
Irrigation Pond with a 'hat-trick of goodies with a new pair of

TUFTED DUCK

female
and

male
the first and vocal

CETTI'S WARBLER
at this location during 2020 and the continuing and equally vocal

WATER RAIL
and another welcome suprise, after an absence of a couple or 3 weeks,
suddenly and restricted to the south east corner of the Heath and close to the Rare Breed Goats Enclosure maybe as many as a dozen each of

STONECHAT

and

DARTFORD WARBLER
some clinging on to juvenile plumage and

with the hopes of them over-wintering here!