At the End of the Day - Mike Rutherford

Disaster manifested itself very early this morning as arriving Harbins at 06:00, as well as the temperature having fallen to 6°C, there had also been an 'all night' power-cut at the Farm Yard rendering 2 Moth Traps out of action. Despite that there were still 39 species returned from the other 3 and as will be seen some of them notable. Even at that hour the local

SPARROWHAWK

was already harassing local and migrant SWALLOWs alike, but to the traps.

SMALL DUSTY WAVE

SINGLE-DOTTED WAVE

WILLOW BEAUTY
have been daily fare of late

and we also caught our 6th
OLD LADY
(not including my private life)
of the season. A bit of a favourite to make sure the count of this species
is accurate a small white mark is placed on the upper wing to distinguish

any that are re-traps.

Then the Good Stuff

SALLOW

was quickly followed by a rather scruffy

CENTRE-BARRED SALLOW

and then, because lightning never strikes the same place twice
a third of the family

PINK-BARRED SALLOW

all were additions to the Property List and while 3 new species in

one day is not unusual, they being all of the same family group is!

HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD

along with a total of 15

WORKER HORNETS
These 2 seemed to be having a fine old time

with a little kissing and cuddling along with some mutual preening

and not to mention a spell of
Soixante-Neuf

I told you not to mention that!

Returning to the Farm House to discuss the mornings findings and enjoy a coffee with Lynn, the House Keeper in the absence of Hugh and Janet,a large bird flew along the bund which separate the garden from  the River Stour. My first reaction was Bittern but, dashing for the door, binoculars and camera, in that order, an

OSPREY
was seen flying along the watercourse. It was seen again very briefly
over the next 3 hours, but your 'sluggish' correspondent was unable
to capture an image.

Never mind! Good reason then to re-visit the 2012 Australia Photo File

to bring to you an idea of what an

OSPREY
looks like.
A couple of shots, taken before Hugh and Janet's departure, and overlooked

show the arrival at PCF of the
CH12CKS- MOBILE
carrying a precious cargo.

c14 CHUCKLETS, saved from the Soup Kitchen, to replace those
killed by Reynard.
"that was a Base Pedal Solo by Michael Rutherford
this is"

 At the End of the Day 
from Rutherford's first solo album (1980)
click the link for a musical treat.

 SMALLCREEP'S DAY
feat. the incredible voice of Noel McCalla.

 MIKE RUTHERFORD
 Oh Man! or is it OMAN

The view from Hugh and Janet's Hotel Room

INDIAN SILVERBILL

EGYPTIAN VULTURE

Grasshopper Sp????
and from our Mate Willie Wine, another series of images showing
Now and Then scenes of various locations in Great Britain and France
during World War II in comparison to the present day.
First out of the hat was a place familiar to me from a Past Life

 Weymouth Sea Front just before D-Day

and the same area now!

Thanks Willie, most interesting.

so Finally a Wildlife Wow!

 Peter Simon Pallas
(22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811)
was a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia
and is familiar to most Bird Watchers if only for lending his name to the dainty
Pallas's Warbler, but how many have encountered
Pallas's Cat
I do believe this link was first brought to our attention by James Lidster.

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The Tender Trap - Frank Sinatra

Another morning at Parley Court Farm and already a 'weather front' occupying the air-space above, but with clearer conditions seemingly heading from the west! The Moth Traps weren't exactly overflowing but even at first glance there was more to recon with than on the previous few days.

First tray out held (from top clockwise)

Pebble Hook-tip, Lesser Broad-boardered Yellow Underwing,

Angle Shades and Blood-vein while in the very next a new species

for the property.

FROSTED ORANGE*

lovely looking thing!

In addition

OAK NYCTEOLINE

the most pristine

DARK SPECTACLE

I have ever clapped eyes on,

SMALL BLOOD-VEIN

is not an everyday event while

BLACK ARCHES

according to the manual, is bordering on being a little late.

One of the very few Micro Moths that I can readily identify
GARDEN PEBBLE
are  now becoming daily,

as are various flavours of 

HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD.

On that subject, this is without a doubt the tiniest of the Species

ever encountered

11-SPOT LADYBIRD

and finally, from the 'inside' of the traps at least,

DEADHEAD HOVERFLY

On the other hand the usual 'opportunist' Birds were laying in wait

including

 

HOUSE SPARROW

BLACKBIRD

ROBIN

and 

GREAT TIT
while overhead yet another small skein of Geese,

these believed to be Canada's passed through.

Later in the day I was to bump into one of my favourite characters here on the Farm, Mousey the Gamekeeper. Apart from keeping us well stocked with (any Portlander's reading please avert your gaze now) Rabbit and Wood Pigeon, he is a mine of information on Wildlife and always has a great yarn to spin! At our meeting he informed me that there were over 30 Greylag Geese on the Barley stubble on 16 Acre Field, so with hope in my heart I beat a hasty retreat. As is usual farming practise, soon after 'harvest' the fields are once again ploughed for the next crop. The Geese hadn't bothered hanging around!!

While the traps occupy at least 2 hours every morning the 2 new ponds at the north end of the Farm are now  also taking up a great deal of my time. In respect of what Bird Watches often call their 'Patch', I have nearly always been extremely lucky, since taking up the hobby at the beginning of the 70's, to have sole access to so many places and sites. It is intended to compose a Post on this subject in the future. This area, mostly covered in Solar Panels and rarely being visited by any other humans, is rapidly becoming my new 'Patch'. c2 Mallard have already been recorded at the Irrigation Pond

but today there were c4, in addition the c2

COLLARED DOVE

were a new sighting while a

GREEN SANDPIPER

has also been seen here before.

today there were c2 here

and a further c3 at the

North Pond.

In addtion at that site

 SCARCE CHASER

COMMON DARTER
and

COMMON BLUE DAMSELFLY

were representative of the Dragonflies

while

 BRIMSTONE

and

CLOUDED YELLOW

BUTTERFLIES

were also 'on the wing'.

Before moving onto some of the Plant life, it should be mentioned that much of the compost produced at the 'in house' ECO Recycling Plant which, among others, processes all of the 'Garden Waste' over 3 Counties, has been used throughout the property and often produces a number of 'cultivars' and non-local stuff.

CURLED DOCK Sp

FAT HEN

EVENING PRIMROSE

which was once grown in this area as a 'cash crop'.

HEDGE BINDWEED

likely a cultivar of the SALVIA family??

Another

ROBIN

Unidentified FUNGI (where's the Fungal Punk when you need him??)

The surrounding woodland here is predominantly OAK

with this being the only example of 

SILVER BIRCH

near the Pond.

Luckily it is 'host' to Honeysuckle a great attractant for some Moths.

A giant SLUG

as yet without ID.

The North Pond is seperated from one of the main Bournemouth

Sewerage Works by just a Bridleway where already Grey Wagtail and Reed Bunting

along with ever present

BLACK-HEADED GULL

I have already entered into discussions with Trelawney, the senior Dampney brother and Lord of the Manor as to the future of the ponds. He assures me that the Irrigation Pond is safe and will not be back-filled, while the other is subject to Planning Permission with fate yet to be decided - Fingers Crossed!

REED TUSSOCK
Now extinct in Great Britain but nurtured by one of my Mothing friends.
Clancy states:- Once occurred in just a handful of fenland sites in
Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire during the 19th century.
It was last recorded at Wicken Fenn, Cambs in 1879.

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