High - The Lighthouse Family

It seems a little strange to be publishing posts one day in arrears, but with the large number of photographs from the National Sailing Academy taking up 2 days, it is hoped we will soon be back on the rails.

One of the now presumed 'winter resident' Kingfisher (can you see it yet?) at Radipole, perched on the tall reads behind a small number of blurred Mediterranean Gulls in the foreground.

Cormorants are also here in good numbers,

and as my Old Mate put in an appearance I felt obliged to capture an image or 2

of the delightful male Hooded Merganser now in full 'winter plumage'.

On arrival at the Bird Observatory, our first sighting was of this wing that was once part of a Short-eared Owl, before the Fox got it!

My friend Pat Shearing from Reading has been visiting for the last 2 days, and has been mightily impressed with both Weymouth and Portland. A visit to the Old Lower Lighthouse, which is the Portland Bird Observatory was a must but not before seeing the 2 Little Owls in the Obs Quarry. Climbing the tower was indeed a novelty, especially as we reached the summit

this Common Kestrel was perched on the

windowsill to greet us.

The views from here are spectacular and given the dark clouds there was also a dramatic look, across part of the Common, the Hut Field, Obs Quarry and the Bill (active) Lighthouse.

Pat taking in the view.

A very overcast English Channel.

Looking north east up the Bill Road

and up towards the Higher Light

Now back at the top of the Island, having walked St George's Church and tout quarry, we looked back on ourselves to a gloomy scene.

There was time to admire the new sign before entering the village of Easton.

a beautiful example of local Stone Masonry,

by local man Martin Green.

Finally, we visited the Sailing Academy where, despite the lack of wind, a few were giving the World Sailing Record a go. Fish (Icelandic Cod) Chips & Mushy Peas at the Marlbro (best in Weymouth / Dorset) ended a great day, and bidding Pat a fond farewell in the hope she returns again soon.

Blinded By the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

From very early morning a weather front as black as the Ace of Spades hung high over Weymouth, but to the south there was a broad band of clear sky letting through a bright bolt of sunshine. On my walk through both the cemetery and Radipole Nature Reserve a 'white stick' would have come in very handy as, despite wearing sunglasses I could hardly see where I was going. At the later, Siskins were still migrating through, 2 Kingfishers were bombing too and fro along the reed edges as 21 Mediterranean Gulls bathed and preened close to the Visitor's Centre. Also there, the heightened water level had seen off the last remaining Black-tailed Godwits while a little further along

in a dark corner by the Gurkha Restaurant 2 Grey Wagtails were feeding until my approached flushed them.

Some of these images are outstanding from the past couple of days.

A chance to visit the St Mary Church, along the Weymouth thoroughfare of the same name, not for religious reasons but to visit the

to which I have only recently been alerted.

There, my old school mate Terry Why has some of his artwork for sale.

Although he has only been producing these Ship Silhouettes for a couple of years,

Terry tells me there has been quite a high demand for them. Get there before it's too late!

This lone Purple Sandpiper was foraging close to the Pulpit Rock at Portland Bill yesterday,

while it has recently been discovered that there are now 2 (and possibly 3) Little Owls in the obs quarry. This crevice in the rocks is a favourite perching place for these birds, but on this occasion one had been ousted by a Rabbit, leaving the Owl out on a limb (or rock whichever you prefer). Not too keen on that perch, it did fly back to the crevice where the Rabbit gave way and sort sanctuary at the back of the hole.

The second Little Owl was perched some distance away.

At the Portland Bird Observatory (PBO) there was the strange sight of at least 2 dozen Angle Shades Moths all clinging to an egg tray recently removed from one of the Moth Traps.

Shortly after this PBO Warden Martin Cade recovered this 'first winter' male Sparrowhawk from one of the Mist Nets.

This was my first experience of this species 'in the hand' so took full advantage taking a series of shots.

There is one person in particular who I know will be delighted to see this picture of Bessie the Obs resident cat (don't I Deborah?), so this one's for you.

and finally a couple of species that graced the National Sailing Academy this week

Oystercatcher

and Little Egret

We Are Sailing II - Rod Stewart II

More cloudy, less windy and a good deal colder it was an ideal day for walking Portland Bill, but you didn't have to be the World Speed Sailing Champion to realise no records were going to be broken today.

A quick look across Portland Harbour and it could be seen that

the 'early birds' were all but becalmed, but

after a good nights sleep in a multitude of very swish looking Mobile Homes no one had travelled all this way to be thwarted!

Already the Sail Boarders were preparing, not at all deterred by the lack of wind, as

as the multitude, mostly children, poured in from all directions

for a day on the 'High Seas'. On view were many of the weird and wonderful contraption designed specifically to break the Sailing World Record,

not least this 'vessel' which those of you who know

the Rock band Yes vocalist Jon Anderson might think this a fine blueprint for the

Moorglade Mover featured on his seminal album 'Olias of Sunhillow'. You'd also need to be Andersonesque to fit into the passenger seat!

Others include the 3 craft shown above, I could only find the 'beer bar' on 2 of them.

As already stated, the 2012 team have already been decided, but here's a tip for the 2016 or the next World Championships where, I predict, Alex Mills-Barton seen here with his Laser Class Yacht will feature prominently.

The 470 Class boats were also putting to sea,

as were the abundance of School Children setting out in Dragon Boats,

Kayaks

and Oil Drum Rafts

. There was even a little friendly rivalry as the Dragon Boats went into race mode,

all watched over by several Safety Boats.

With Olympic Crews already selected, Team GB are able to put their boats through their paces, under the watchful eye of King George III sat astride his charger on Osmington Hill (background).

Lasers too were catching some wind,

and some were still trying to break speed records.

I have spent most of the day with my friend Patricia Shearing from Reading on a 2 day visit, so hopefully we'll be covering some local ground together tomorrow.