Sloe Gin - Joe Bonamassa

There is little annoys me more than these endless, contrite cooking/baking type programmes on the TV, each vying for position of being most ridiculous. Strawberries with Mackerel or Hedgehog Ice Cream just flies in the face of proper cheffing and would suggest if any station would like to take up the offer, Harbins Farm House is where you can find the 'Real McCoy'.

My Friends HUGH and JANET

never seem more content than when they are drumming up some delicious dish or any other culinary delight. Arriving home late afternoon yesterday this is the scene that met my eyes, both busily 'pricking' Sloes for the production of

  SLOE GIN
clear when bottled but by this morning begging the question

"By the Way Which Ones Pink" - Floyd!
If a second example where needed, I had already 'prepared' the
Pheasants for the oven leaving Hugh to produce yet another
delicious dish!

With overnight temperatures hovering around the 12°C mark there was still hope of a good return from the Moth Traps which started with the arrival of

HYDROPHILUS PICEUS
which I had initially identified as
 Dytiscus marginalis
before being corrected by my 'mentor' John Gifford.

100's of CADDISFLIES

 and dozens of HOUSE FLIES
are still being captured daily with the highlight of today's haul being

CYPRESS CARPET

 plus a much better marked
CHESTNUT

With a number of interesting things on the various County Bird Lines worthy of a little effort to see, I set off this morning initially to try for a look at c2 Water Pipits at Lytchett Bay in Poole Harbour but my journey was curtailed firstly by meeting Hugh who had just found this

LITTLE GREBE
on the Parley Pond (the first returning bird)

then by road works diverting me in the opposite direction. Deciding to cut my losses and head for another attempt at LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER at Okers Wood, I was to be disappointed there too. It was only then that it dawned on me there could be a chance of the Pipit at the nearby Watercress Beds at Waddock Cross, amazingly there was! Always nice to see these

'pale' little birds return to their winter quarters.

Onward to LODMOOR to search for other 'goodies'

with first to show being this distant

MARSH HARRIER
quartering the reed-beds.

When was the last time you saw a Marsh Harrier fly past your window?
The 'target' bird here was Long-tailed Duck, but the news was bad,
"it flew off at 08:15" from one fellow birder!

More common fare on the Moor included
not very obliging SHOVELER

distant COMMON SNIPE

and flighty LAPWING

Still no sign of the Duck along the Western Path

but there was an addition to the Year List in the shape of
COMMON GULL

MEDITERRANEAN GULL

MOORHEN

and WIGEON

were also present there, but time to take a look at the sea.

 

From PRESTON BEACH all that could be seen were
The Isle of Portland

KAYAKERS

and this TANKER
During this time I, or the car, were seen by no fewer than 3
of my mates (informed by E-mail this morning) but had disappeared
before they could catch me up.
It took a re-visit to the Moor a little later to catch up with the

LONG-TAILED DUCK

which was now in the distant pools close to Overcoombe Corner. Flighty, as it was also seen from Beachdown Way during the day. The last ditch attempt had paid off. The photographs, taken in Barrow, Alaska, are from the archive just as illustration.

STONECHAT
Feel like a 'little weep' before bed time?
Click this Link to see The Master at work!
Sloe Gin - Joe Bonamassa 
at the Royal Albert Hall, London

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Pearl's A Singer - Elkie Brooks

A perfect end to yesterday as while transporting one of the Moth Traps to the vicinity of the 5th Golf Tee, a Barn Owl took to the wing from a perch on the perimeter fence. Heard now on a nightly basis and seen by Hugh occasionally, this was my first 'sighting' of the year at the farm.
The night however was a little less than perfect, but the temperature did rise, the wind moderated to a zephyr but the rain was persistent during all the hours of darkness. Given the conditions, there was sure to be something in the traps which included dozens of Caddisflies and what might be described as House Flies. Otherwise, Moths were represented by

 THE CHESTNUT* (new to the property)

 2 contrasting specimens of

 RED-GREEN CARPET

 and the Micro

RUSTY-DOT PEARL

I hadn't noticed, prior to this morning, the amount of 'berries' that have disappeared from the trees and bushes hereabouts. This HAWTHORN, directly outside my bedroom window, has already been stripped of two thirds of its crop and was predominantly 'red' when I left just a week ago. From the 'feeders', the niger seeds have been totally overlooked for weeks until this morning when a single Goldfinch was seen feeding there. Similarly, the peanut feeder has attracted nothing, not even a Grey Squirrel, but was in need of a bit of a clean up. Within minutes of re-establishing it this

 GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

was at them but quickly moved on to the fat balls.

 Across at Janet's stables, while reinstating power to the Moth Trap, 

this PIED WAGTAIL was capitalising on the food source there.

 GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

Au Naturel

one of c7 distinct and separate individuals encountered on the 

property this morning. 2 other species unusually not common 

or regular here, for reasons best known by themselves, are

 LINNET and

 MEADOW PIPIT

which were both transiting in good numbers today with odd birds

landing to feed.

SKYLARK

on the other hand breed here although are rarely seen near the house.

 One of the COBHAM jets takes off to undertake the daily

commitment with the Royal Navy.

 LITTLE EGRET

are also back along the River Stour with this individual

 involved in a skirmish with a

 GREY HERON 

which appeared to get the worst of it and retired to a nearby field.

Unfortunately no 'action shots'!

 It is not unusual for the COMMON PHEASANT to 'roost' in 

trees but seem a little ungainly perched this high aloft.

 

 This strip of MAIZE has been left as a 'Game Crop', providing

food and shelter for wildlife during the winter months. Today it

certainly seemed to be up to the task as c3

 ROE DEER 

were 'flushed' from cover.

 BLACKBIRD

plenty of those here taking advantage of the abundance of

Hedgerow Fruits.

 A Royal Navy Helicopter pays a visit to

Bournemouth International Airport.

 and while on the subject of ungainly perchers, far less familiar

 than Pheasants in Oak Trees has to be

 BLACK-HEADED GULLs

on power lines.

As previously reported these OAK TREES were overborne with Acorns earlier in the year, but all seem to have disappeared. Unlike others on the farm there isn't a single 'nut' remaining on any of these 3 neither is there sign of any on the ground. All other trees have a carpet of fruit beneath them and similarly all are still holding on to most of their leafs, despite recent gale force winds!

 Looks like a BADGER had been foraging here?

Other sightings/counts here today include c2 x Song Thrush (good to see back, if indeed they have been anywhere), single Common Buzzard, foraging flock of Long-tailed Tit, numerous Goldfinch all feeding on ASH, a single Cetti's Warbler singing along the Stour along with half a dozen Reed Bunting and 'double figure numbers of Jay (no wonder the Acorns are missing!).

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