Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra

if you ask me Francis Albert is getting just a little

too much Blog Time! 

Thought we'd slip in a quick 'extra' Post while things are still fresh in my mind! A day when I thought getting down to cleaning the caravan carpets and emptying the grey waste bucket might be in order but I was soon distracted. At the traps things remain much the same except to say that quality and quantity were today replaced by a little colour. Bordering on 'late' but a welcome return of the delicate and aptly named

 BORDERED BEAUTY

and while shades remained Orange and Ochre

this pristine

 SALLOW

made for a fine shot.

 Add that to 4 varying shades of 

COMMON WAINSCOT

then we left the traps with something most pleasing to the eye.

 Also lurking within was this

Unidentified Larvae

which we feel sure someone will put us right about.

For some it would seem, Moth Traps are simply a waste of time

as this

 CONVOLVULOUS HAWK-MOTH

was found perch on a friends bath tap yesterday morning.

 GEESE

of one description or the other (Greylag or Canada) are now a daily

feature of the early morning sky-scape, likely heading for the nearest

stubble field to 'top-up'.

 Not quite sure what this

COMMON BUZZARD

had lashed to its leg this morning but thought unlikely to be jesses?

So, onward to the ponds in the northern half of the property before

the chores began which, not surprisingly held a couple of

 GREY WAGTAIL

Less expected was a small party of 'young'

 LINNET

using all of the available facilities bathing, feeding and drinking.

Pulling up to the 5-bar gate at the North Pond this napping

 WOOD PIGEON

 paid scant attention to me even when I got out of the car.

Content sleeping and dusting in the little bowl it had excavated,

 it eventually walked away rather that flew.

Merritown Heath 

was the next 'port of call' to see if I could locate my New Charges.

After fencing of most of the wooded areas here it was decided to graze cattle, and as I am probably the most frequent visitor to the site was asked, via Phil Sterling, by the farmer to keep a 'weather-eye' on the stock. With no idea of breed or numbers I climbed the gate only to disturb c13 Mistle Thrush and c2 Blackbirds from this

 ALDER BUCKTHORN

 previously feasting on the ripe and sweet black berries.

How do I know they were 'sweet', well like the Apple Tree just 20 yards behind me I just had to try one. If they ain't killing the Blackbirds then they................ However, it was discovered later that they are a serious PURGATIVE so feel glad I didn't linger or I might have been Running! It was a movement in the trees that first caught my eye with a first sight

not dissimilar to one witness by 3 Dutch friends and I

in the Malaysian Rain Forests at Taman Nerara when waking early

one morning to find a small herd of

 MALAYAN TAPIR

foraging close to our huts. Photo taken there in 2011.

 Closer inspection showed them to be

 

 c4 BELTED GALLOWAY COWS

 PEDIGREES

 I am told by their owner Gary Clarke

 with one recently having been Artificially Inseminated with

success rate as yet unknown.

 Back on PCF Territory no visit here is complete without a wander

through the Oak and Birch Woodland where already this year

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Woodcock and Nightjar

have been seen. Unfortunately today the birds were of the more common variety.

 RAZOR STROP FUNGUS

on

 BIRCH

 LONG-TAILED TIT

 JAY

 another

LONG-TAILED TIT

before returning for a last look at the 

Irrigation Pond.

 Mussing at the beauty, once again, of

GREY WAGTAIL

the silence was

SHATTERED

by a passing aircraft, so much so that before I knew it 

"Up Periscope" had been ordered and all 6 foreward

Torpedo Tubes loaded! 

 It was recognised as a

HAWKER HUNTER

Fighter Aircraft

 which was quickly followed by a second,

and as if that were not enough racket for one day, they were joined by

 a single

English Electric 'CANBERRA' Light Bomber.

Phheeeeewwww!

 At the road junction between the Eco Recycling Unit and Bournemouth International Airport (BIA), a favoured vantage point for Aircraft Spotters, the crowd was already growing, so there was a need to investigate. The cameraman at the Parley Pond looked a likely contender, who informed me that additionally both the Canadian and British

 LANCASTER BOMBERS

were about to land at BIA.

His reward was a lift to the best 'spotting spot' on the farm were he was

left to his own devices. For me it was Post Haste for the bund on the west

side of Harbins lawn just in time to see the 2 Bombers approaching over

Parley Court Manor

 At this point there was no knowing which was which

 but it looked every bit as though they were making to land.

 The one bearing the Pennant Letters

 V(ictor) R(omeo) A(lpha)

is the Canuck

 while

K(ilo) L(ima A(lpha)

is the Brit.

 They didn't land on that occasion

 taking a wide sweep to the north

 before realising the

 Kettle was Boiling

 Both safely on the ground they were followed by their pals

 in the slightly more powerful

 HAWKER HUNTERs

 and the

 CANBERRA

Have to admit this made for an awesome sight while our

Dear Friend Janet Read tell us

Hi

They arrived today and will hopefully fly Saturday and Sunday.

Janet

Lancaster Bombers BOTH at Bournemouth

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Good-Good-Good, Good Migration - The Beach Boys

Think it might be 'VIBRATIONS' really?

Still the night time temperatures are low, still the sky is clear, still the Moon is best part full and still there are very few Moths - Moan, Moan, Moan, Moan, Moan - feel much better now! Bit of a joke really as we are still pulling in one or two interesting items such as

CYPRESS PUG*
 which was an addition to the PCF List

 with

OAK HOOK-TIP
and
BARRED HOOK-TIP* (top)
which must have slipped through my net as it also is an addition to the
PCF List

another
YELLOW BELLE

a return of the long time absent
SMALL RUFOUS
while in my view best of all was this

SCORPION FLY
identified for me by who else but
John Gifford

While we ain't talking Wildebeest stampeding across the Veldt, we have been a little remiss in recent days bringing you up to date with what few Birds we have seen heading south on migration. After the Pied Flycatcher and Tree Sparrow, several days ago now, we have had a sprinkling of less familiar garden birds. Over the weekend my attention was drawn to a well known sound but one that is not at all usual throughout the south section of PCF. A

 MISTLE THRUSH

 among a throng of Starlings in the garden Pine Trees

 was in fact in company with

c3 others. A common breeding bird in the northern half of the property, it would seem by the c11 seen together the week before that there has been a good degree of success this year. Not alone in that there was also the plaintive zi-zi-zi of

 GOLDCREST

from the same trees.

 A 'hunting'

 SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

was found close by, but interest in that was short lived as

a bright little Warbler was also spotted.

 Like the above

 WOOD WARBLER

was an addition to the PCF List.

 Like the proverbial Bus another

 Spot-Fly was soon in the lens but it was a foggy early Saturday morning

that brought the next arrivals.

While not seen through the low visibility both

 TREE PIPIT

and

 YELLOW WAGTAIL

betrayed their presence by 'call'.

Along with the Osprey on Sunday and Tuesday, c2 high-flying and Fly-catching

MEDITERRANEAN GULLs

traversed PCF airspace.

Note:- some of the Bird images above are from the archive.
Other than that a suspected Hedgehog has been leaving small deposits on the Harbins lawn, and when returning next morning to check the traps I found not only the bread and milk bait missing but the container as well. Maybe its entertaining this weekend.

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Strangers in the Night - Francis Albert Sinatra

While overnight temperatures remain at mid-single figures, trap totals dwindle correspondingly. Last night's Macro count amounted to 210 Insects of just 24 species but over the past few days there have been some highlights.

An addition to the PCF List was this

PEACH BLOSSOM*

BLOOD-VEIN alongside SMALL BLOOD-VEIN
just for comparison and a bit of fun.

VESTAL

has been daily for a week or more now and not just as singles.
These 3, showing just some of the variations of shade and colour
were plucked from the same trap yesterday.
Some that could be considered a little late for their 'flight period'
include

COMMON MARBLED CARPET

SHORT-CLOAKED MOTH

CREAM-BORDERED GREEN PEA
and

BEAUTIFUL HOOK-TIP

LARGE WAINSCOT
was an addition to the Year List,

HEDGE RUSTIC
was just Hedge Rustic while

FEATHERED GOTHIC*,
also yesterday was another addition to the List.
The 'Strangers' included

WATER BOATMAN

which would have 'flown' into the trap

Anyone for Cumberland Sausage?
but how on earth does an

EARTHWORM
gain access??
Strolling around, mainly the northern end of the property, threw up

the tiniest of
COMMON PUFFBALL FUNGI

quite a bit of 'fruiting'
HOP

in various hedgerows along with plenty of

SNOWBERRY
On Merritown Heath there has still been no sighting of the Cattle
which I have been asked to keep an eye on but the

FERAL APPLE TREE
at the gateway between the two properties

is now absolutely laden with fruit.

There was some suggestion earlier in the year that we try our hand at
Cider Pressing,
and while there is never a shortage of Apples hereabouts those above
may just put a bit of a zing into any brew that is decided upon?
Why it should have been a surprise to find

 GREYLING BUTTERFLY
up there I carn't imaging, being a heathland species, but it was!

Notorious for perching with their wings tightly closed, this image has
been 'borrowed' from Wiki.

Considered the best find of the day (although very common) this pristine
SHAGGY INK-CAP
was found on the Harbins driveway along with a couple of less mature specimens.
It was 16:30 when the OSPREY showed itself again briefly
prospecting the same beat of the River Stour directly outside
of the Harbins lounge window. 

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