Cuckoo Cocoon Have I Come to, too Soon for You

And what about the new Insect Exhibition at the Darwin House within the Natural History Museum? At 8 stories high and overlooking the research labs, it is to be dubbed 'The Cocoon', and, it has to be said, has been too long in the coming. The general public always were able to view any and all of the Entomological specimens therein, but not without appointment. I remember many years ago doing just that, and while access was easily obtained the process of searching through endless draws was a little daunting., but totally 'spell binding'. Having said that, when applying for entry one could specify particular specimens which would be laid waiting, but the new set up is going to be a whole different ball game. I can already see Messrs Harris, Lambert, Forster, Cade, Foot, Wood-Homer et al in the queue.

Marsh Sandpiper - Kotu Bridge, The Gambia

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - Alice Springs Sewerage Works, Northern Territory, Australia

Southern Lapwing - Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Again the Borough was shrouded in mist early morning, but for a change above the cacophony of Herring Gull calls there was the sweet refrain of a Robin. In, or very close to, my garden it was back in the spring when the last one was heard. It may have been that there was an overnight 'fall', or maybe they all just came out of the 'woodwork' at the same time but there were 6 at Radipole and a further 10 at Lodmoor. Apart from a single Willow Warbler and a scattering of Acros that was it at Radipole, but Lodmoor turned up a little more to look at. Counts included Med Gull 2, Black-tailed Godwit 13, Sandwich Tern 15, Curlew Sandpiper 2 (only seen by Daragh), Redshank 2, Dunlin 20+, Common Snipe 5, Little Egret 4, Whitethroat 2 plus single Willow Warbler and Blackcap. There was a moment when, had I been a fraction of a second quicker, I may have had my photograph of the year as a Sparrowhawk deftly picked off a House Sparrow on the west pathway. Scanning from Preston Beach 16 Common Scoter flew inside Portland Harbour, along the Middle Arm Breakwater and out into WeyBay. Later I surveyed the ebb at Ferry Bridge where 6 Med Gull, 53 Dunlin, 87 Ringed Plover, 5 each Sanderling & Turnstone, 6 Sandwich Tern and a lone Little Egret arrived to feed.

Sandwich Terns - Ferry Bridge, Portland, Dorset

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

Once again the early morning rain made for a late start, but there was good to come of that. Some years ago my mate Andy Lindsay sent me a present of 2 Jools Holland 'Later With' DVD's which are compilations of mainly New Years Eve studio concerts featuring many of the greats. Included in these line-ups was one Beverley Knight, who's rendition of the Sam Cooke penned 'Change is Gonna Come' more than caught my ear. Now without wishing to sound too pointed to those concerned, what I describe as the 'Squealing Bint' genre ain't my cup of marbles. However, this lady, very much the exception to this rule, was a guest on the BBC Breakfast News while the rain fell outside. Sounding totally unaffected by what must be massive success (apparently you don't get MBE's out of Christmas crackers) this obvious roll model for any of the younger generation, talked us through a couple of her songs and an upcoming UK tour, on this the release day of her new album '100%'. I'm always very interested in meaningful song lyrics, which in this instance came by way of Ms Knight's own composition 'Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda' (the Last Words of a Fool). A message to us all there, who would want to trip this mortal coil knowing those words were true about ourselves. Go Out and Get It!

A walk through Barleycrates, Reap Lane, onward to the Bill, Obs and back to Sweethill produced no migrants at all. There had been a few caught at the PBO, but later at Ferry Bridge Ringed Plover and Dunlin numbers remain much as in recent days, while Sanderling now numbered 8.

Red-necked Avocet - Alice Springs Sewerage Works, Northern Territory, Australia

Note This site is arguably the best in Alice and highlighted via Google, a key being held by the local Bird Club. On arrival we asked the hotel receptionist if she had any ideas how we might get access, and she made no fewer than 9 phone calls to suss it out. Eventually, she contacted the club secretary who was dining with friends, but found time to ring us in our room and later deliver the key. The advise was to get a taxi, but found it to be a very short distance by our standards and easily walkable. The place is full of birds, best for me being the bizarre Pink-eared Duck.

American Avocet - Cape Henlopen, Delaware

South American (White-necked) Stilt - Costanera Sur NR, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Black-winged Stilt - Strandfontain Sewerage Works, South Africa

No Crake just a few more Waders

Don't Panic I Haven't Seen It

As an act of compensatory factor, here are a couple of images of the April 2008 Devon bird.

The news arrived as darkness fell last evening, of a Little Crake sighted in the main north/south channel just north of the Radipole Visitor's Center. Gloomy enough to deter an immediate visit, it was an early turn this morning to find no more than a dozen 'birders' searching for this extremely rare county visitor. I was expecting a cast of thousands, as according to Green (The Birds of Dorset) apart from records prior to 1888 there have only been c2 in recent times, so this has been a 'blocker' even for some of the counties more eminent listers. Despite the hour and a 4 hour vigil nothing was seen, or heard, of the critter, however, it's a dull day when 'nothing' is seen so accordingly Swift, Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, Chiffchaff, Bearded Tit, Cetti's Warbler and Water Rail, to name but a few, went into the log. It was the information (or lack of it) about this find that intrigued me, with no one knowing for sure the 'exact' spot or for that matter the identity of the finder. Amid the conversation on these subjects there were paraphrases such as "freedom of information act" and "divulgence isn't always good for business", and wondered if I was still pursuing the same hobby that my dear old dad introduced me to, 'at this very location' at the age of eight! Still we didn't see it, but I will sure as hell be down there again before the sun sets today, so keep you mobile switched on! Oh, and for some, don't go to the Elm Tree (private joke).

Paul Harris and I stuck it out until 19-30, but still no sign of the Crake.

White-fronted Plover - Paternoster, South Africa

Solitary Sandpiper - Central Park, New York City, USA

A small aside to this particular bird and an accompanying Connecticut Warbler, which were both found by my ex lady-friend Sue Hallam, occurred when a large group of US 'birders' approached us to find out what we had seen. It must have been the English accent that deterred them as Sue reported her finding, causing them all to depart rapidly chuntering disbelief. It was left for those who followed, to see both birds and a small number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, much to the loss of the doubters. Only the Warbler escaped photography.

Falklands (Common) Snipe - Port Stanley, East Falkland Island

(Far) Eastern Curlew - Cairns Seafront, Queensland, Australia

With a Little Help from my Friends

Belly full of pig, sky full of clouds and an acute lack of birds another opportunity to work on the up and coming trip. So, instead of the usual endless ramblings I'll post a few more Waders for the 'birders' among you to ponder. None of these pics are certain as to identification, having already changed my mind on each a number of times. Not easy in the field, let alone from photographs, (unless they call/sing which none of these did) you may have a few spare minutes to confirm these findings. I'll await any help at the address below.

E-mail - captbagsy@waitrose.com

Lesser (Mongolian) Sand Plover - Uda Walawe NP, Sri Lanka

Greater Sand Plover - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Short-billed Dowitcher (with Pectoral Sandpiper) - Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Long-billed Dowitcher - Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Lesser Yellowlegs - Cape May, New Jersey, USA

Greater Yellowlegs - Creamer's Fields, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

Happy Anniversaries

I walked the Rodwell Trail for the tenth time in fourteen days this morning, and there is definitely something missing. In recent times they have asphalted the full length and it looks very good, save for the dog muck that simply cannot leach through the surface - the 'toe-rags' don't live at Littlemoor, they are residents of £300,000 homes at the top of Wyke and the back of Lodmoor, with their precious pets. Anyhow, what is missing are the Grey Wagtails, despite a thorough search each day I have not been able to locate one, the first time since I was a nipper. Having said that, there were 3 flying over Ferry Bridge this morning, along with about 50 each Dunlin and Ringed Plover, 2 Mediterranean Gulls (1 x second winter & a juvenile), 4 Wheatear, and singles of Sanderling, Knot and Peregrine.

And talking of 'nippers' and anniversaries, it is 48 years to the day since I joined the Royal Navy at the tender age of 15 years and 50 days. With never one regret about that decision, I know that one way or the other I would be serving Her Majesty either at HMS St Vincent, or one of the 2 institutions up 'top hill'!! After and extremely tough year there and a short training programme as a Sonar (Asdic then) Operator at HMS Vernon we were sent on what was advertised as a short spell on a ship to get our 'sea legs'. I joined HM Minesweeper Nurton in No.3 dock in Pompey, the current home of the Mary Rose. A week later she completed her refit and was towed back to the M/S base which was also at Vernon. On that epic ocean voyage (believe it or not) the screw (propeller) dropped off and she was returned to dock. I needn't have taken those sea sick pills and still had no idea if I would need them when the great day came to go to sea proper. I didn't have to wait long, and soon found myself on the Junior Seaman's messdeck of HMS Keppel based, albeit shortly, with the 2nd Frigate Squadron at Portland. After HMS Russel was struck by a massive wave inside the Arctic Circle, it was the Crabby K's duty to relieve her, where I spent the next year plying between northern Norway and Iceland. Next came what in naval terms would be described, a luxury yacht. HMS Eskimo was one of the 'new generation', gas turbine super frigates designed especially for the Persian Gull, where back in the mid 60's things were a bit 'hairy' to say the least. The up side in Eskimo was all bunks, where in the K it was hammocks, but somehow they were never quite so relaxing. No time here for too much reminiscing but we were heavily involved with the pull out of Aden, drug, precious stones and gun running in the Gulf and Beira Patrol, Mozambique, which was effectively the blockade of Ian Smith's Rhodesia.

Back in the UK I had a short spell in HMS Undaunted, which ended her days as a target for surface to surface missile trials, and then had the bright idea of volunteering for 'boats'. As a Submariner I would get a £1.00 a day allowance to my pay, and as a side to that training I also completed a Divers course bringing in another 4/- (shillings) a day. These, believe it or not, were enough to pay our mortgage so a worthwhile diversion. To be honest I loved every minute, bearing in mind that in those days it was diesel 'boats' that undertook the 'sneakies' (looking out for Ivan the Red coming around the North Cape) that the 'nukes' do today. As a consequence I have sailed and flown over and under the Arctic Circle.

Oh, and by the way the other anniversary is my Son Out Law (they're not married so he's an Outlaw, get it?) was born 50 years ago today, and that as I understand it was at a fairly young age. So, it's all hands to the Black Dog, Broadmayne this evening for a pint of rough, some Rock 'n' Roll and a hog roast - bon appetite.

2 days in the Navy and not a Christmas at home yet. At least with 'wind scoops' like that, this lads hat would never fall over his eyes!

'New Entries Division' - September 1961

Anchors & Cables training on the mock forecastle, HMS St Vincent 1961

A further selection of Waders, today's candidates are all American and on the larger side.

American Golden Plover - breeding on the tundra outside of Barrow, Alaska

Marbled Godwit - Newport Beach, Oregon

Willet - el Segundo Beach, Los Angeles, California

Hudsonian Whimbrel - San Francisco, California

Enough to Brighten any Dull Day

Wallcreeper - Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria

Didn't even leave the house today, there comes a time when some travel plans have to be made, along with catching up notes/computing and even a bit of washing up. So today was the day I had to bite the bullet. A few more Waders for you to brows and a short video footage, as the tile suggests.

Grey Phalarope - Barrow, Alaska

Red-necked Phalarope - Ditto

Terek Sandpiper - Cairns Sea Front, Queensland, Australia

Latham's Snipe - Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia