Countdown to the Next Adventure

The only change in the weather today was the fall in temperature, but even that was short lived. By mid-morning clear skies and bright sunshine warmed the day, but the forecasters tell us that isn't going to last? A total inconvenience of having to pop into the surgery to get a flu/swine fever jab shortened my 'birding' day by at least a minute and a half so will have to put in some overtime to catch up. It was only arriving at Portland did the birds start to appear, but even then it was more of the same Wheatear, Meadow Pipit in numbers and a few each of Goldcrest and Song Thrush. However, at Culverwell the 'ringing team' of Roger ? and Ian Dodd had several birds going through the measuring, weighing and banding process, and of these

Dunnock and

a fine specimen male Blackcap were worth a photograph. Having spent about 45 minutes there I wandered just outside of hailing distance before picking up on a

Short-eared Owl flying in from seaward. Shout as I may Roger and Ian remained oblivious to this arrival, but even from where I stood

the view was distant. Before arrival at the Observatory this

Stonechat allowed for a shot but there was better to come. Having just settled to a cup of coffee, a shout went up for what I thought was another Short-eared Owl, but to see the Warden (Martin Cade) sprint in Commonwealth Games fashion towards the main gate something a little more special was in prospect.

It took me a while to lock onto the bird in question as it appeared above the line of the hill, pursued by several Carrion Crows

an exciting juvenile Hen Harrier

which was not only a 'year tick' but also the first I have recorded on Portland plus

a species never before seen during the month of October. Yes, I know, SAD but it does it for me ha, ha!

Finally, regular readers (and others) may be interested to know that it is just 'one week' now before I leave on my next adventure which will be 3 weeks in


wait for it


MADAGASCAR!

Identification Problem

The blustery wind persisted today although the direction had backed a couple of points, but the sky was cloudless and sunshine prevailed from the start. Robin,Goldcrest and Wren were most numerous at the cemetery, but once again the question was where are the Chaffinches. Before leaving, a Sparrowhawk chased a Song Thrush across the area as c3Redwing , the first here this end of the year, passed overhead. It was found later in the day the answered to the previous question was the Chaffinches seemed to be at the Bill!

At Radipole, despite the 'unusual' appearance of acres of mud, there were just 25 Waders, all Common Snipe, c3 distinctly separate Water Rail were heard calling with the only 'ace' being a Grasshopper Warbler. It was a windy walk along the seafront to Lodmoor but worth it to see what few ducks there were are now showing splendid winter feathers.

Shoveler were first on the scene with this male and

female being 2 of the c8 present.

Teal (male) and

female were also seen, along with single Common Snipe and Bar-tailed Godwit, a dozen or so Lapwing plus c10 Dunlin.

This Spoonbill has been on the Moor for a few days now

but this was my first effort to see it.

Timing it perfectly, it was as close as these large birds get to us humans and performed very well even briefly taking to the wing.Regardless of the birds, any walk on Portland is always a dream which is just as well as I managed to miss most of what was on offer. All of note were good numbers ofWheatear , Meadow Pipit, Goldfinch, Linnet and a single Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly, so to Ferry Bridge. There, my luck took an upturn and after watching a few less 'flycatcher' Gulls (similar to yesterday) I happened upon this

Little Stint.

With very few other Waders to sort through it was quite noticeable as was an accompanying

Sanderling.

Finally, this Gull flew in to rest on the newly exposed sand, but has caused me some consternation.

Seeing its yellow legs, it was thought to be one of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls but on size alone there was reason for more than a second look. Sat with a group of Herring Gulls, it looked as big or larger than all of them.Lessers are usually slightly smaller.

Anyway, I have recruited the help of others, far more knowledgable in the subject, and if it is determined the appropriate addition will be made. If there is anyone who would like to offer a solution, please add a comment in the appropriate space - thank you.

A Bit More Going On Today

Weather conditions were a carbon copy of yesterday, even to the point where 'grey' was replaced by 'bright' almost on the stroke of noon. In the cemetery too things were more or less bird-less similar to Saturday except there was a small movement of Corvides with as many as 30+ Rooks and well over 50 Jackdaws all heading south.

With high water throughout most of the forenoon, Barleycrates and the Bill were again the obvious choice and immediately there were signs of more birds than previous days. Plenty of

Wheatear, which over the course of my walk

must have amounted to three figures. Also in that division were Swallow, Meadow Pipit and Linnet while Stonechats were represented by 6 individuals.

This single Kestrel was just too close to miss the opportunity of a photo, while

House Sparrows, in decline over the past few years, seem to be doing OK in the county now?

Greenfinch, this one at Culverwell, I understand are not doing quite so well as they seem to have been susceptible to a virus that is killing them. Also in this vicinity, chattering from above brought to my attention the first c2 autumnalFieldfare, in the bushes a single male Blackcap and walking down the path Dr George Green. Author of The Birds of Dorset and co writer (along with Martin Cade ) of Where to Watch Birds in Hampshire & Dorset, it must be at least 5 years since I have seen George. Good to see you if you're reading this!

Along the way there had been reports of 'a few' Ring Ouzel and among the Elders at Culverwell I was to get mine. Unfortunately a little obscured so the photo is from the archive.

Also there was this Small White Butterfly along with c3 Red Admirals and this

Chiffchaff one of several along with more Goldcrests. A coffee at the Observatory and I was soon on my way to the bus as c2 Lapwing flew into the Top Fields joining a veritable 'cloud' of Linnets.

A strange occurrence at Ferry Bridge where c42 Mediterranean Gulls were busily feeding with a few Black-headed Gulls. Not on marine life as you might expect, the food source being 'on the wing'. As the tide ebbed at a great rate through the Small Mouth the Gulls were content to sit on the surface picking off flying insects until they reached the span of the bridge, at which point they would fly 200 yards back up tide to continue the circuit. I have not witnessed this before.

Mediterranean Gull feeding as a party of

Brent Geese flew in.

a couple of aerial

shots, and

one perched.

We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
Hammer of the Gods will drive our ships to new land,
To fight the horde, sing and cry: "Valhalla, I am coming"!

On we sweep with threshing oar, Our only goal will be the western shore.

Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin OK, the song was written with the northern hemisphere in mind, but apart from Valhalla it seemed to fit very nicely with Antarctica as well. A few more photos from the vaults.

Adelie Penguins on a 'Bergy Bit' (the name given to small Icebergs), Antarctica.

Hope Bay, Antarctica.

The Arktowski Research Station (Polish) on King George Island, Antarctica the largest of the South Shetland Islands. The lighthouse is the most southerly in the world.

Perched on the Trinity Peninsula, Mainland Antarctica with Adelie Penguins.

Passing Point Wild, Elephant Island, Antarctica. This is where Earnest Shackleton left 22 of the crew of the stricken Endurance while he and 5 others sailed in an open boat, during winter conditions, to South Georgia to effect the rescue of his men.


and finally we are pleased to welcome the latest (101) country to our readership, Libya. Thanks for logging on, we hope you enjoy the site and if so maybe you will pass on the link to others in Libya Arab Jamahiriya. There has been a slight adjustment to the countries list as Jamaica featured twice on the definitive list.

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll , Too Young to Die - Jethro Tull

Well, I think we can safely say last nights dinner with Bowie & Sheila was a great success, and generated a couple of recommendations. Firstly, the wine drunk with Spanish Chicken (recipe donated by Jim the Medic & Liz) was the first bottle of a recently purchased case of vintage 1998 Feytit Clinet. A Pomerol reputed to be a neighbouring chateau of the 'millionaire's row' Petrus and Le Pin, regardless it was unanimously agreed the best 'red' any of us had drunk for a long time. If indeed there is any interest, let me direct you to the Antiques Wine Company owned by our friend Stephen Williams.

Secondly, long time friend Andy Lindsay had suggested I take a chance on the Rolling Stones DVD Shine A Light, which was saved for this occasion. Not proclaiming to be Jagger & Co's most ardent fan, I did first see them play the now defunct Gaumont Cinema, Weymouth in 1964 and have been fairly satisfied with their output ever since. Once asked if I thought Keith Richards was the best guitarist in the world, my answer was I don't believe he's even the best guitarist in the Stones, but last night my opinion did alter slightly in his favour. With the total age of the 4 remaining members totaling 250 at the time of recording (2006) there would have been reason for a little puffing and panting, but apart from Charlie Watts (65 then) showing a little fatigue after the third number Brown Sugar all were strutting the stage like 18 year olds. Watts did get his second wind soon after. As for highlights, my all time Stone's favourite is the cleverly penned Sympathy For The Devil which was performed immaculately, but this paled when they introduced Buddy Guy to help them with Champagne & Refer. One of the real Blues legends and one of my personal inspiration, his composition First Time I Met The Blues was the second track of the genre I ever heard. After hearing that soon after Howlin' Wolf's Spoonful that was me sold and in addition having been born on 30th July 1936 he looked the youngest dude on the stage.

Get out and buy them both!

So on to today, which to say the least started 'grey' and barely improved until late afternoon. The wind had backed a couple of points, today showing directly east and was definitely at the lower end of the 'gale force' vector. However, while looking threatening the rain held off and with a total blank in the cemetery I headed directly to Portland. At Barleycrates Song Thrushes were in evidence with a count of 11, while among them was my first

Redwing of the autumn. This photograph was taken last year at the Portland Bird Observatory.

Reaching the crest of the hill at Culverwell, this was the picture and while the waves can and do get far more furious, it has been a while since I've seen this. In the bushes there was another Redwing and a Whitethroat which was an example of those leaving meeting the new (winter) arrivals. The only other 'movement' of note was

Goldcrest, with c5 at Langley Close, a couple in the Obs garden and

c2, of which this was one, at Top Fields.

While there was a single Knot again at Ferry Bridge, the rest of the day was more about people especially when I bumped into a few of the Hampshire Ornithology Group, what a jolly bunch of people! At the foreshore I had the pleasure of meeting Val McCormack who is the lady credited with proving and photographing the first

Long-tailed Blue Butterfly for the Island. She has kindly allowed me to reproduce her photograph here, and I thank you Val for the chat this afternoon.

and finally the remaining Storks

Black Stork - Bulgaria

Asian Openbill - India

Black-necked Stork seen in both

Australia & Sri Lanka

Black-necked Stork juvenile - Australia

Jabiru - Belize

Take off

At the nest.