Indian Giver - 1910 Fruitgum Company

A beautiful sunny morning heralded Boxing Day with a dawn air temperature still showing +7°C, but as if just to take the gilt from the gingerbread there was a piercing cold draught from the north west. However, the latter was the only downside to the day as, unlike recent days/weeks, there were at least some Birds showing themselves starting with this

GREY HERON

 which was hunting the margins of
Parley Pond-side up unto the moment we pressed the shutter for the first time!

That was the moment it decided to take to the wing but very much
looked the part being spotlighted by the Sun.

 Up on the Common there was a small flock of about 50

 REDWING

which were reluctant to pose, but with a little patience..........
Just around the bend at the Irrigation Pond there were c5 Teal
flying around but seemingly undecided whether to risk landing or not.
It was left to the regular c2 Mute Swans to make up the numbers there.
A little more prospect after taking the 'distant veiw' across the
Gravel Pit
where it was seen that the female

SHOVELLER

had returned after a few days absence, but there is thought
to have been no such desertion by the

LITTLE GREBE
only its way of life preventing it from being seen on a daily basis.
Despite being considered 'common fare' the

MALLARDs
also looked resplendent in the sunshine, while one of an unknown number of

GREEN SANDPIPER
hereabouts decided to oblige with a short clip before heading off to the Heath.
Met at the gate by Hugh and Janet,
taking their Boxing Day stroll and having just flushed a Tawny Owl
(to be investigated at a later date}, there was also a party of c7

MEADOW PIPIT

 buzzing around and occasionally perching, along with a

COMMON BUZZARD

just altering position in one of the nearby Oak Trees.
Then suddenly from the Gorse popped, what has become something of an enigma here, a

 DARTFORD WARBLER

 distant and brief but no less value for all that.

 With no breeding records from here this year it was encouraging
to see one again but then, like the proverbial bus, there was another
and a third and while difficult to be sure there could have been as many as 5?
There was then just a brief appearance of a

CORMORANT
 transiting the Heath before the first of what was to be a count of 8

 STONECHAT

 firstly a

male
followed by a

female
and then a 'singing' 

 CHIFFCHAFF

 making striking contrast with the ripe
ROSE HIPS.
What is presumed to be the nest of a

 COMMON BUZZARD

followed by a
KESTREL
considered to be out on a 'wing and a preyer'!

Back to the Strange Rover and driving towards home yet another

DARTFORD WARBLER

very nearly landed on the bonnet, certainly close enough but the

images had to be taken through the windscreen.

Passing one of the
Solar Panel Compounds

there was a 9th

STONECHAT
and to end we hark back to the Dampney Trust Party of last Friday night,
where for the second year running I found myself in the charming company of
the lovely Maria. A gentle lady of German extraction, knowledgeable
and the very best of conversationalists who commented on my T-shirt.

 Bought from the Shoshone Lady owner of an ethnic shop in Knoxville, Tennessee,
while travelling with my youngest daughter Lisa from east to west coasts in 1995,
it is the best and most poignant item of clothing ever owned. An excellent conversation piece,
as was found to be the case on the night in question, with Maria summoning he partner,
and my mutual friend, John informing him that she had found the Present she would like!

Thought highly unlikely that another would/could be found it
was considered best to just slip it off and give it to here!

 The expression Indian Giver was a hugely derogatory remark

against the Native North American People, which means to give a gift

in the expectation of getting it, or something more valuable, back!

In the case of the 'headline' it referrers to a hit single by

US Bubblegum Rock Band the 1918 Fruitgum Co

which reached No 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA in 1969.

 Within this page it is used as a 'pun' and a 'double entendre' 
simply to highlight the 'Gift of Giving'!

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Down the Dustpipe - Status Quo

Another One Bites the Dust

Richard John Parfitt OBE 

 RICK PARFITT

28 October 1948 - Yesterday.

'Quo' are not on my list of 50 favourite bands but

they were unarguably massive Crowd Pleasers, definitely worth the price of the ticket!

Down the Dustpipe - 1970

A couple of reasonably fine days weather wise with temperatures remaining high for the time of year hasn't seen the arrival of any new Birds. On the other hand there has been a good dose of overnight rains which has done no more than raise water levels in the various ponds, with Waterfowl counts staying about the same.

WIGEON

a female

having a bit of a stretch while the

the male

paddles serenely by.

Just one of the previous 3
MUTE SWANs
remain at the Gravel Pit and this

GREY HERON
quickly flushed from pond side to

mid-water mound.

A male and

female

GADWALL

also remain there and while at rest looked to be
flashing Morse code, seems we haven't lost our touch
managing to read the full message.

A couple of

ROE DEER

make a bolt for the Solar Panel Compound

and while there is absolutely nothing unusual about

EGYPTIAN GEESE

perching in trees

they always seem to fit into the category of

BIZARRE

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On Golden Pond?

Just when you thought the weather couldn't get any more dreary the Fog sets in yesterday, not being able to see one end of the Gravel Pit from the other, but on the up side it did clear before mid-morning. There was only a 15 minute spell of sunshine throughout the previous day but that quarter of an hour brought its share of delight. When you get tired of 'cloud formations' you might as well wrap your hand in!

 Across the Solar Panels

 Across the Heath

 Sky Mountains

The Traps haven't been returning any Moths either but look 

a little closer and you might just detect the odd and tiny

GARDEN SNAIL

and a couple of very good looking

ROVE BEETLES

As water levels get lower and the clatter from Plant gets louder
we would have expected a mass exodus from

PARLEY POND

but not a bit of it.
To start with there has been the return of this years breeding pair of

MUTE SWAN
which haven't been seen for a month or more, 

but even then there were only c2 juveniles with them which has now

happily doubled to c4 of the original c7.
It has also uncovered a much younger juvenile

 MOORHEN
 (left)
than the others still around the pond,
but the GREATEST surprise of all came in the shape of a female

 PINTAIL

 While our attention was distracted by Family Members also perusing
the goings on at pond side we have some reason for forgetting to video it, but

 there is no excuse for not being able to identify this fairly common Duck.
Even with the benefit of what are decent images still we were flummoxed and
sent them off to 'higher authority' for verification. We can only put this down to an abrasion
of the brain which you can easily get away with when you are a septuagenarian!

This is indeed a 'rare' bird here as there has only been a single record
of c5 overflying since recording began, to get one settled is a huge bonus!

The has been something of a downside to these operation
as some Fish have fallen to the pumping such as the odd

PERCH
 suspected of existing here but thus far not having been verifies, and

COMMON EEL

Otherwise, and to get all the 'works' out of the way the

 BRIDLEWAY on the COMMON

has been resurfaced with loose chippings, while we also seem to have
our first 'settled' flock of about 100

REDWING

which we will be stalking in the hopes of better images in days to come.

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