Going to My Hometown - Rory Gallagher

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'JIMI' R.I.P.

A dull old day was Thursday with a dank feel throughout complete with an equally persistent and gusty North Easterly breeze. However, that aside, it was the day designate for the Strange Rover's annual dry-docking so it was a visit to Weymouth (my former hometown) and a couple of hours at my old stomping ground Radipole Lake. With a recent positive report of its continued presence there, high priority was given to the Hooded Merganser which is now in its 9th year of residence.

Given the conditions just about anything that stuck its head above
the parapet was considered 'fair game' to the lens, and started with

FERAL PIGEON

COOT

which have now disappeared from Parley Court Farm,
hardly any Gulls on the car park, which was considered unusual,

and a few dozen

TUFTED DUCK

with all the females keeping their heads down.
Having plied the track between Visitor's Centre and Sluices 3 times with
no sign of the illusive Duck we decided to walk the circular track
soon finding a resting

GREY HERON

and considered very lucky

although distant views of c2

MARSH HARRIER

We could well have done without the ever stiffening breeze

but the effect it was having on the 'dead heads' of the
COMMON REED
seemed therapeutic, while we don't think the passing

CORMORANT
even clapped eyes on us??
Next in the log was a first of the Autumn

COMMON GULL
but by no means as the name suggests back at PCF, just 5 records.

Back at the car park and there were a few more Birds to sort
through and included

MEDITERRANEAN GULL

a sightly closer
COMMON GULL
with a few
 BLACK_HEADED GULLs

HERRING GULL

along with

a couple more

MEDs

CORMORANT

LITTLE GREBE

and a far more active and obliging female

TUFTED DUCK
Just about to give up in favour of a few chores in town

and what should appear but the

HOODED MERGANSER

even catching Fish.

Where they went we cannot fathom, but the 2 best video clips

were lost in transit!

Finally, a Blast from the Past and

2008 when this fine Duck was first discovered!

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Emerald - Thin Lizzy

We hadn't considered that at this late stage in the year that Moths and other Insects would continue to predominate these pages, but still they come. Not so the more northerly Birds though as it seems, like most other places in Dorset, that Redwing, Fieldfare etc are still to get this far south in any sort of numbers. They will also come when ready!
Emerald? That's a

 GEM
get it?

Lizzy Link

 GREEN-BRINDLED CRESCENT

ICHNEUMON MOLITORIUS

with a much smaller possible

PRISTIPHORA ABIETINA 
John Gifford never ceases to amaze me with his ID skills, was
only expecting the Big Lad to have been given a name - should have known better.

 DECEMBER MOTH

 SPRUCE CARPET

 and in the Oak Tree (looking splendid) trap

 BLAIR'S SHOULDER-KNOT

and hopefully the last

WASP

While we were stung 4 times last season by there beautifully marked

creatures, so far this year we have avoided such a pleasure.
Hope we haven't spoken too soon as there's still time yet!

At the Irrigation Pond the 'ringed'

MUTE SWAN

proved to be a little bolder, while a combination of other

Waterfowl there included

GADWALL, MALLARD and TEAL

with the male of the latter progressing nicely into

Winter Plumage

(first signs of the 'gold' quarter patches)

On the Heath we noted a comparison of leaf-fall between

 SALLOW

hardly changed and the

ASPEN

 which are all but totally bare, which was when c3 extremely vocal

GREEN SANDPIPER

flew overhead.

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Here Comes the Flood - Peter Gabriel

When the night shows the signals grow on radios
All the strange things they come and go, as early warnings
Stranded starfish have no place to hide
Still waiting for the swollen Easter tide
There's no point in direction
We cannot even choose a side

In our view one of, if not 'the' finest lyric ever crafted, just the first line is enough to blow you away! All Deck Officers in the Merchant Navy must hold a Restricted Radio Operators Licence as part of their qualifications, and casting my mind back to that particular course the very first subject was the dissipation of the D-layer which occurs each evening at dusk. This in turn alters the propagation of radio waves as they now have further to travel, but it's the way Gabriel phrases this

"When the night shows the signals grow on radios"

that simply does my head in! Hope it does yours and enjoy the recording.

Peter Gabriel - Link

Dawn yesterday was one of the very few moments of the last

3 days when it wasn't raining, and the only time on the day we

got anywhere near a glimpse of the Sun. 

 Working on the theory that

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining

 we made best haste for all the areas where the flood water would have gathered.

 

The Irrigation Pond showed a marked increase in depth of water

and and opposite in the number of Wildfowl, not a great start!

The 2 Mute Swans can just be seen, right of picture, but don't

be confused by the 'white blob' left that's the water filter buoy.

 Otherwise it was just this single male

WIGEON

which is certainly taking its time converting to winter plumage.

Although we have 'fed# the pond it may be that the water is now too

deep for the 'dabblers' as there was no signs of life around the corner

at the Gravel Pit.

Joy of joy's at the Moors River as we have now got our

WATER MEADOWS

back and first signs of life were a couple of hundred

BLACK-HEADED GULLS

mostly obscured by bushes and trees.

A familiar 'cackling' certainly wasn't coming from the

CHAROLAIS

as c3

CANADA GEESE

hove into view and closely followed by the same number of

EGYPTIAN GEESE

That was our lot for the day but at least it had whet

the enthusiasm, prediction being "it'll be like

Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust

manana"!
It maybe of interest to note that a recent 3 days rainfall pattern here reads:-
19th = 36.8mm, 20th = 14,0mm and 21st = 20.6mm 
I took the old track the hollow shoulder, across the water
On the tall cliffs they were getting older, sons and daughters
The jaded underworld was riding high
Waves of steel hurled metal at the sky
And as the nail sunk in the cloud, the rain  was warm
and soaked the crowd
Lord, here comes the flood we'll say goodbye to flesh and blood
If again the seas are silent in any still alive
It'll be those who gave their island to survive
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry

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