Grandad - Clive Dunn

Something of a couple of Record Breakers to herald the New Year, as for one I have never recorded

 RING-NECKED PARAKEET

as the first species of a New Year

 nor have I been in

on that day.

To bring up the 'hat trick' it was also the greatest of pleasure to be

in the company of some of the finest 'Birders' in the land.

FREDERICK
was seeing things at a distance, turn the bins round mate.

+

ALEXANDER

really looked the part as

BENJAMIN
studied things in close detail, while

ELIZABETH LOUISE
took thinks at a far more leisurely pace.
A great 'outing for the binoculars bought for the boys soon after they were born.
I feel a Little Girl's pair coming very soon!
Otherwise, the New Years Day List was not of record breaking proportions,
 but what were seen follow in order of sighting.

 ROBIN

WOOD PIGEON

JACKDAW

BLACKBIRD

BLUE TIT

 BLACK-HEADED GULL

GREAT TIT

COLLARED DOVE

 MAGPIE

 CARRION CROW

 HERRING GULL

 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL

 GREY HERON

 CORMORANT

 JAY

 MALLARD

GOLDFINCH

STARLING

We are hoping to expand on this in days to come.

If you count Feral Pigeon, which was also spotted, the 

Year Total stands at 20 while the Dorset equivalent is ZERO.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

TO ALL

(especially Hugh and Janet, see you soon)

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OWZAT - Sherbet

Unreported from last weekend was a gathering at The Cricketers at Shroton, or Iwerne Courtney if you prefer (the village with 2 names), of a small 'like minded' group of us. Fine food, decent beer and copious amounts of airy badinage made for a great day, this hostelry is strongly recommended should you be down that way!

THE CRICKETERS

A sign, not of the times,

and the most novel door adornment.

As a result of some high gusts over the past few days the
Wisteria went for a burton,

while Hugh's 2013 Christmas Present to Janet
The Wicker Horse

now has a severe list to Starboard.
Otherwise, days have been spent, as has become usual, among the
Solar Panels and looking to the Skies.

LAPWING
movement has been evident with a number of fairly small flocks
gracing our airspace.

This one, the largest, held an estimated 300 individuals.

In SOLAR PANELVILLE lots of birds are gathered

mostly feeding on the unlimited amount of
Canadian Fleabane.
Together with GOLDFINCH above
most confiding

STONECHAT

PIED WAGTAIL
while the Grey Wagtails seem to have disappeared, the search continues,
while just occasionally as many as c4 adult male

TEAL

have been visiting the newly dug Gravel Pit.
The full length of the flooded pit is inaccessible and the birds are
sticking rigidly to the far end with no chance of 'point blank' shots.

Also in large numbers

MEADOW PIPIT
with an

UNIDENTIFIED PLANT

which, covered in Frost, caught my eye.
A couple more images from our friends Roong and Jean Francois in Thailand
which have had to be cropped and in the process lost a lot of quality.

 PACIFIC REEF EGRET

YELLOW-BELLIED SUNBIRD

Unfortunately, in compressed format these images have lost some
of their former pristine quality.

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