Ladybird, Ladybird Fly Away Home

 Another day of dodging the inclement weather strated at the 2 Homeward Moth Traps and a

16-spot CREAM LADYBIRD

and followed in quick succession by a brace of First's for the Year

HEART and CLUB

along with a

SMOKY WAINSCOT
and a rather welcome

MAYFLY
For the more tardy among us there was a not so welcome wake-up call

from a

RAF ATLAS C1 CARGO AIRCRAFT
(surely they do not HAVE to do this so early in the morning?)
One of the Great Delights of recent days

has been the explosion

of juvenile

GREENFICH

whose numbers, without an accurate count,

must be in the regeon of 30 to 40 individuals?
On the evidence it looks as if the local

BLACBIRDs
might be joining them soon but in far less numbers

while the

BREATER REED MACE
looks not to far away from full bloom.
Having removed the redundant and rotting aircraft from the western corner of the airport
it looks rather like the local

STOCK DOVE
are strugling to find a nest site while at the other end of the scale
SKYLARKs

do not have that problem but once the blades start turning we wonder just how many
eggs and chicks migh be consigned to these bales????
Makes You Wonder if They have Ever Heard of
RISK ASSESMENT??
We will try to end on a posative note and marvel at the

plumage of this

MAGPIE
while welcoming the

first small cloud

of

mostly juvenile

STARLING
to the lawn and tennis court.

MADAGASCAR (where else would you want to be on a WET Sunday?) - Part I

 Still a number of Iron's in the Fire despite the continuing wet weather but we though a diversion to Madagascar might be the change that is as good as a rest? Another Sunday Series at random which we hope you will enjoy.

14 full days on the ground during the Autumn of 2012 on an organised
Wildlife Bonanza

SEAL of MADAGASCAR
which can be hit or miss. 

Perfect as it turned out with other participents getting along well and excellent guidance from both UK operaters and Locals to the 4th largest Island in the World after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.

AIRPORT
and the first Bird

BROAD-BILLED ROLLER

Did someone mention Far From the Madding Crowd?

GREY-HEADED LOVEBIRD

with our first 'Lemur' being

VERREAUX'S SIFAKA
along with

WHITE-FACED WHISTLING DUCKs
of which we must have seen 'thousands' during the stay.

More heavy traffic but we struggled through especially as we were about to reach the 

Marshes and maybe for me one of the Key Birds of the trip, the wait was short for

ALLAN'S GALLINULE
key, as one had been found during 2002 in a moribund condition on Portland, Dorset (home turf in those days) only the second record for the whole of Great Britain - a Very Good Start!

The outskirts of the capital
ANTANANARIVO

This seemed close to home, but far from it as the 'endemic'
MADAGASCA HOOPOE

A Most Welcoming Group of Youngsters
certainly knew the drill and were rewarded with a few shilings and followed by the bizarre

HAMMERCOP

who's huge and ragged nests are made of anything they can find from Coke Cans to Engine Parts.

BROWN LEMUR
and close cousin

BROWN MOUSE LEMUR
with a double dose of the dramatic to end the first day with

NILE CROCODILE

With Chops Akimbo
and at dusk a most welcome

AFRICAN MARSH OWL 

Hope this brightens what is going to be a very soggy day here in Dorset at least - why not tell your friends!

What a Difference a Day Makes (Part II) - Dinah Washington

 The other half of yesterday's successful equation included the addition of

GHOST MOTH

♂ fwd and ♀ aft

along with

CREAM-BORDERED GREEN PEA
which is the size that the name suggests.
Otherwise, back on yesterday's Heath

DARTFORD WARBLER

were showing well but as usual only briefly

but without a sign of a youngster while

MEADOW PIPIT

were showing representatives of both

adult

and

juvenile

alike.

We caught no more than a fleeting (or maybe that should be fleeing) glimps of this

NIGHTJAR
which gives us a location to watch at distance before heading for the Ponds and a single

POPPY
on arrival.
It has been the worst year on record for all of the watercourses but at the

Gravel Pit
we did encounter 2 pairs of
TUFTED DUCK

female
and

male.

HERE'S HOPING the WEATHER HOLDS!