According To You - Orianthi

A crisp, clear, cold, frosty, sunny and almost windless day was simply too much of a temptation as I ventured out yet again, this being 2 days in a row. Visits to the cemetery and Radipole were combined with changing currency, flu jab and collecting anti-Malarials for the upcoming trip, all of which is now coming together quite nicely.

Unfortunately, all did not start well at the first venue as it was quickly noticed that the householder had chopped down the Apple Tree, and all its understory, favoured by so many birds this time of year! However, that was not deterring the numerous

GREY SQUIRRELs from continuing to bury food for the onset of winter.

MAGPIE

On the ground, most numerous today were BLACKBIRDs adorning every tree and bush,

while overhead many 'hundreds' of WOOD PIGEONs seemed undecided as to which direction they were going.

The odd DUNNOCK showed itself

along with good numbers of CHAFFINCH

while c18 FIELDFARE and

uncountable numbers of REDWING also put in an appearance.

Above the western entrance to Radipole Nature Reserve and Sculpture Park a BLACK-HEADED GULL was tussling with a SPARROWHAWK as were a number of Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit too small to be seen on this distant shot.

Only a few paces on, a flock of maybe 10 or so BEARDED TITs were doing what might be called dispersal flights, gaining height well above the tree tops before dropping back into the reed bed further afield.

It is always a great delight to watch these beauties and listen to their distinctive 'pinging' as they forage

so a couple of 'in the hand' shots are added here for you further delight.

LONG-TAILED TIT were seen for the first time this year in the cemetery, but they were also at Radipole now gathering into winter flocks.

This excellent little wander ended on Weymouth Promenade, where the sea was like a mill pond, and the Sea Cadet Training Ship 'Royalist' stuck out like a sore thumb on the horizon before heading off for my first appointment.
Further to all of that, I received a most welcome e-mail from my friend Chris Cook (Fashion Editor for the Tokyo News) in Japan wishing me good luck and bon voyage and sending these 2 incredible shots of

PTARMIGAN taken

in the Mountains west of the capital. I have spent many an hour perched on the slopes of Cairn Gorm and Glen Shee trying for such shots, thus far having been unsuccessful. Thanks so much Chris - and hope I've got this right?

and finally, having projected talented guitarist Ana  Popovic as the female Bonamassa in a previous post, I am now introduced to another contender by my friend Andy Lindsay. He and lady friend Dawn Partridge attended an Alice Cooper gig last week and came back raving of the 'sensation' that

Orianthi Panagaris (born 22 January 1985), better known simply as Orianthi is. A Greek Australian musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist, she is perhaps best known for being Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for his ill-fated 'This Is It' concert series, and as the lead guitarist in Alice Cooper's live band. Her debut single "According To You" has peaked at No. 3 in Japan, No. 8 in Australia and No. 17 in the US; her second album, "Believe" received a worldwide release in late 2009. In 2009, Orianthi was named one of 12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists by Elle Magazine and also won the award as "Breakthrough Guitarist of the Year" 2010 by Guitar International Magazine.

Take A Listen to Orianthi

then take a LOOK (just 'one eye' gents)

ORIANTHE PHOTOGRAPHS LINK

It would now seem that great favourites of mine, 'alternative' rockers SUEDE, got the lyric completely wrong on the track Hollywood Life from the Dog Man Star album! 
"She-Rocker you're wasting your time,
Cos you're only a girl.
She-Rocker sacked the factory line for a chance of a dance in a surreal world.
She said, "come rescue, rescue me from this Hollywood Life,
come rescue, rescue me from this Hollywood Life".

Hollywood Life Link

This album comes highly recommended if only for the seminal guitar playing by Bernard Butler and one of the greatest voices in Rock 'n' Roll, Brett Anderson.

Speedy Gonzales (adapt) - Pat Boone

Having found the key to the draw-bridge this morning, and lowered it across the moat I was able to get out for the first time in 3 or 4 days. Mostly on private business which I approached via the cemetery, where Chaffinch were most numerous along with a few Blackbirds, Goldcrests and Robins while small numbers of Redwing flew overhead. Again we resort to the archive and continue the re-visit of previous trips to South America which, from e-mails received, seem to be to the liking of many.

Having traveled almost the full length of Ecuador, including a week on Galapagos, MIKE HUGHES and

I crossed the PERUVIAN BORDER at Machala and continued our journey, via the Pan-American Highway, to the northern city of Trajillo. There, we encountered some of the most bizarre hospitality including the company of the President of Peru himself, along with his lady wife, and most of the cities dignitaries but time doesn't allow for that story right now.

 It was a moonlit night in old Mexico (Peru). I walked alone between some old
adobe haciendas. Suddenly, I heard the plaintive cry of a young Mexican (Peruvian) girl. 

You better come home Speedy Gonzales

 We were in fact heading for

the ADOBE TEMPLES at Chan Chan, once the largest pre-Colombian city in South America, just five km west of Trujillo. Chan Chan covers an area of approximately 20 km² and once had a dense urban center of about 6 km². The vast adobe city was built by the Chimu around AD 850 and lasted until its conquest by the Inca Empire in AD 1470. It was the imperial capital of the Chimor until again conquered in the 15th century. It is estimated that around 30,000 people lived there.

Chan Chan was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, but the city is severely threatened by storms from El Nino which cause heavy rains and flooding on the Peruvian coast.

It is in a fertile, well-watered section of the coastal plain but the city's ruins are additionally threatened by earthquakes and looters. That isn't one pictured, that was at the time my Boss.

From there it was along haul by road to the capital Lima, from where we took a flight to Cuzco and the narrow gauge railway to Machu Picchu. No time to dwell there either as we moved on, again overland to

LAKE TITIKAKA the highest navigable lake in the world.

The UROS are a group of 40 or more floating islands made entirely from Reed

which are also used as a means of transport (boats),

Housing

and staple diet. We can report that the taste is very good.

Good natured people we were free to roam at will and take part in all that was going on

Only one 'lifer' as far as birds go on the lake, that being

GIANT COOT, the first of which was seen sizzling away in a frying pan. We can also report that they tasted disgusting!

Hold The Line - Toto

The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The high, arid plateau stretches more than 80 kilometres (50 mi) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana about 400 km south of the capital Lima. The 'lines' were created by the Nazca Indians between 400 and 650 AD and include hundreds of individual figures ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized creatures. They are shallow designs made in the ground by removing the reddish pebbles and uncovering the whitish/grayish ground beneath, with the largest figures being over 200 metres (660 ft) across. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but in general they ascribe religious significance to them. Other theories have been summarized as follows:- "the geometric ones could indicate the flow of water or be connected to rituals to summon water. The spiders, birds, and plants could be fertility symbols. Other possible explanations include irrigation schemes or giant astronomical calendars."

Mike Hughes and I boarding the light aircraft for the 45 minutes flight. Some of these designs may take a little deciphering, I will try to give guidance.

KILLER WHALE - almost dead centre, the open mouth is pointing upwards.

 GEOMETRIC SHAPES

RHOMBOIDS 

THE ASTRONAUT - on the slope of the lower left mount,

closer view of the most enigmatic of all the 'lines'.

DOG - left and above centre.

CONDOR - right.

CONDOR - closer view centre, bill downwards.

HUMMINGBIRD

SPIDER - almost centre.

SPIDER - left.

ALBATROSS - centre.

PARROT - head dead centre with open bill.

REPTILE & PARROT - centre.

HANDS left & TREE right.

TREE centre and WATCHTOWER top right corner. We did give the 'tower' a go, but you need a whole lot more elevation than that to make any sense of 'the lines'.

MONKEY - with 'endless' tail.

Due to the dry, windless, and stable climate of the plateau and its isolation, for the most part the lines have been preserved. Extremely rare changes in weather may temporarily alter the general designs, while in more recent years the lines have been deteriorating due to an influx of squatters inhabiting the lands.