Something in the Air - Thunderclap Newman - Part I

 Again we find ourselves in something of arrears as far as Posts are concerned, but better overborne with Wildlife than stay here twiddling the fingers. The following 2 offerings relates back as far as Saturday when the absolute priority was pulling the Moth Generator out of Dry Dock, completing Basin Trials before towing her back to her berth in East Dorset!

With a crisp Frost and still a little early morning Mist there was time to undertake a mini-rounds of the Recording Area before popping off to rendezvous with Chief Engineer and fellow Wildlifer Dave

but not before watching the last of the
Snow Moon
sink below the western horizon.

With some garden plants already in bloom our desires are now focusing on such exoticts as

HUMMINGBIRD HAWK-MOTH
(already recorded on nearby Portland and elsewhere)
All else down south amounted to a few lingering Redwing and Fieldfare and this

HERRING GULL
looking 'puffed out' after so much perching with more northern climbes proving a little more productive. A decent start on the Gravel Pit was the presumed 'return' of just a single female

TUFTED DUCK

seemingly more interested in

Roll Preening
and generally sprucing up rather than anything else!
However, what was to follow was simply a 'joy to behold' with c2 adult

LITTLE GREBEs

being of no surprise but look a little closer to find them

NEST BUILDING

in February

unheard of and seen in this clip to be 'stamping down' the building material which is usual.
The nests are also built to float to contend with changing water-levels.
The fact that there were also a gaggle of c7

CANADA GEESE
there as well paled by comparison to what we had just witnessed, but there was also that important meeting to consider.

While being late is not an option Dave usually manages to get there before me
and had already sussed out a decent start to proceeding with the generator seemingly fading from the memory as the local

Farmer was also about his own business.

Conditions were perfect but even though my visits to this location started back as early as
1974 proceedings started with something never seen there before

BROWN RAT

by no means singular

as the footprints showed but maybe 'dozens' with more to come as we progress.
Traditionally 'fed' by both the local residents and visitors alike it is not surprisingly a catchment for a host of birds but on the down-side it is a bit like photographing down a dingy tunnel, but we won't let that deter us!

YELLOWHAMMER, CHAFFINCH and BULLFINCH

HAMMERs and  CHAFFs

BOEING 777

of Dutch Airline KLM
(we thank John Gifford for the ID)
Call out the instigators,
because there's something in the air.
We've got to get together sooner or later,
because the revolution's here! And you know that it's right