Portland / Weymouth - Part I

With the restrictions eased just a little bit more and a pressing visit to the Weymouth / Portland area in the pipeline yesterday was as good as it was going to get for such a venture, but not before the       Moth Traps! En-route we found the pondside

MUTE SWAN
to be sitting, but still only 2 males

while it looked every bit as if the

MAGPIES
had completed their domed construction.
Success followed at the traps with a more than decent catch consisting of c2 Firsts for the Year

BRINDLED BEAUTY

while slightly upstaging it a

FROSTED GREEN
With the tide just about as high as it ever gets it was directly to the

PORTLAND BIRD OBSERVATORY
where we found the Warden Martin Cade, his Assistant Erin Taylor (a lady who has now been in residence for quite some time but still not met - a delight) and long standing member Graham Walbridge) However, on the downside we had just missed a wandering

GLAUCOUS GULL
(archive for illustration)
but even though deathly quiet Martin did manage to pluck this

fine looking gentleman from the mist nets

BLACKCAP
The follow-up report of a

CALIFORNIAN QUAIL
(an escapee or more likely released)
did nothing to stimulate the interest as we wandered off to the

BILL
but more particularly the

TRINITY HOUSE OBALISK
where had it not been for a few of the more common Seabirds we would have drawn a blank.

A juvenile looking

SHAG
Then in quick succession from

PULPIT ROCK

RAZORBILL

punctuated by

CHARTER FISHING BOATS

and even a

SPEARFISHERMAN

2 of my Vary Favourites in earlier days.

Just a few

GANNET

all on the wing

while on the sea

and cliffs a host of

GUILLEMOTs
Otherwise, just singles of

ROCK PIPIT
and

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
while what is presumed to be

DANISH SCURVYGRASS
put a very plesant lip around the tops of some of the redundant quarries!

At a distance from this traditional site the
OBS QUARRY

we claim to have seen c2

LITTLE OWL
A few features of the Island on the way back to the mainland included

SAINT GEORGE's CHURCH at EASTON
which is said to have been designed on the lines of St Paul's Cathederal, London
but feel that may have been through Rose Coloured Glasses?

The Islands Answer to Stonehenge
and the Best View in Town along the 18 miles of Pebbles that form

CHESIL BEACH
along with the greatest misnomer of them all the

PORTLAND's 2012 SUMMER OLYMPIC RINGS
The whole gig which featured Portland almost in the entirety was only ever refered to as the Weymouth Olympics and to my knowledge the same way throughout the media!
The Magic Island
lost its moment again!
That however was not the end of my day as pulling into a Birdless Ferrybridge we caught sight od 8 Chinese Students

just taking in the view the kind of Magic Moment that is not to be missed.
Engaging them and welcoming them to both our Country and Portland we had a long chat before parting by buying them a drink. Having enjoyed such warm welcomes right across the World it is just a small thing which usually 'lasts forever'!
There was even a COMMENT yesterday and thank you ALL again!

In case you missed it

Hi Bagsy, I am Jie Zhang, one of the Chinese friends you met in the day. We are deeply touched due to your kindness and hospitality, which made the trip more impressive in Dorset. Finally, we all look forward to your next visit to China, that’s what I want to say.
TO BE CONTINUED.

Love is in the Air - John Paul Young

 It is said that we are all never more than a few yards from one, so really no surprise when we happened upon yet another

BROWN RAT

en-route for the Heath where it was no surprise either to find the
take was low from the Moth Traps in view of the fall in overnight temperature!
Best we could muster were, once again,

half a dozen

CLOUDED DRAB

a lone

YELLOW HORNED
along with an equally singular

ICHNEUMON WASP
On the remiss side the little beauties that are

NUTHATCH

have been singing their hearts out and tapping away at nest holes

singing

without even a mention across these pages,

so useful to have SENILITY on your side!
Rather than increasing, Bird numbers have been declining with only this single male

STONECHAT
on show over the past week or more which is the same for the far more gragarious

STARLING

which may have been overlooked

rather than absent, but what a beauty!
However, moving down south the deficit was reduced somewhat when happening into

first of all

this

BROWN HARE

gamboling around the margins of a recently sewn field before

playing our part in
Grey Squirrel Family Planning.
Before leaving the area we came across the first

CELANDINES

of the year before witnessing the

Mass Migration

across the

Plains of Parley

of c5 ROE DEER
while it looks like the ornimental

GUINEAFOWL
may also be considering procreation?

 More on the Chinese Encounter of yesterday to follow if and when we ever get the images sorted - Great Day!!

Angel Dust - Gil Scott-HERON

With a battalion of Lookouts stationed on both port and starboard bridge wings, crow’s nest and even a Lifebuoy Ghost, stationed at the stern of the vessel in the eventuality of a ‘man / woman going overboard’, our ploy finally paid off yesterday! A text from the landowner at 16:52 simply stated, “watching

GREY HERON
on River Stour from lounge window".

Have you ever seen a Fat Lad running?

It has taken a full 89 days to clap eyes on this huge and common bird which would normally fall to the log well within 86 minutes on a New Years Day Twitch, or any other for that matter.
(PS - it didn't hang about for a photo either hence archive)

Otherwise, there was little or rather no action at the Moth Traps unless you include me struggling into my Chief Engineer's overalls to top up the Oil reservour in the generator which has been coughing, spluttering and even stalling in recent days - seems to be OK but fingers still crossed! Again with not a sniff of a migrant at least the 

ORNIMENTALS
seem to be incubating while finding the first showings of both

DAISY
and

COLTSFOOT

(Thanks John)
at the pondside while it would seem the male Coot at the Irrigation Pond has abandoned ship and Little Grebe numbers reduced to one as prospective breeding

CANADA GEESE
appear to have taken over

as usually striking this pose, nostrils just above the surface, pre-nuptuals and to the accompaniment

of that lone

LITTLE GREBE
Deathly on the Heath where the

BAGOTs

continue sparring,

ASPENs
start to show just a hint of green,

LINNET (singular)
continue the vocals with these mysterious and unidentified

EXCAVATIONS
are popping up all over the place and the

Rare Breeds Cattle
OLD ENGLISH WHITE

and

SHETLANDs
turned up just in time to underpin this wilting post!

An extremely poor attempt at capturing last night's a very bright pass of the
International Space Station.