Bird of Prey - Uriah Heep

Considered a good start to an otherwise gloomy day

was a return or new arrival male

KESTREL

at Parley Pond.

However, his hapless prey might have been of a differing opinion but 

that's the Wild World and,

after a fine meal, only one thing for it!

As if one small raptor were not enough to start any day,

while still at pond-side talking to Hugh we spotted a

MERLIN

flying almost directly above us and a most welcome addition we would assume to anyones

Year List?

Driving over to the northern section of our area

it was noticed for the first time this year that at least one

ROOK

has made a start on nest building.

 Meagre returns from both ponds 

 as the collective total

was no more than c2 female

SHOVELER

A 'BLANK' was draw along the full length of our beat of the

Moors River

and as far as Wildlife was concerned it was also the case on the

Heath.
 Seems the Stonechat and Meadow Pipit influx have now passed through.

It was only the

 BELTED GALLOWAYS

 that raised an eyebrow as they were seen chomping away at

BROOM

Our friend John Gifford informs us that it is not unusual to see the more

hardy breeds, these and Highlands for instance, tackling more sinuous

plant varieties, giving up if they find them unpalatable.

There was also a show, of what we humans might call affection,
between the Calf and her Mother.

Our attentions now turned to Eco where the works to install the
new furnaces continues apace.

 We keep a weather-eye on these 2 areas in particular in the hope that
on completion they may once again be turned over to Wildlife.
On that particular day a

GREEN SANDPIPER

was feeding this area while 

 among those distant Gulls we found this

 HERRING GULL

 bathing with an audience of
BLACK-HEADED GULLs

now in bright Winter Sunshine.
It is of note that, despite the noise of heavy plant, Lapwing and Little Ringed Plover
are regular breeding birds across these areas.
There was a tentative plan to wander just a little further afield,
particularly as the weather was holding, but reaching the
Chapel Lane Roundabout

 this articulated lorry, carrying an aircraft fuselage,
was seen to have sort shelter on the slip road close by.
Moving further forward it looked as if there had been something of a serious accident,
given the number of Services Vehicles in attendance, which scotched our plans.

Back at Base the final contribution to our foray was found slowly slithering
up the inside of one of the Moth Traps a
GREY FIELD SLUG

Entry	Pageviews
United States	778
Russia	293
United Kingdom	282
France	74
Germany	58
Ukraine	23
Estonia	17
Spain	15
China	14
Venezuela	13 - Welcome back after a very long absence, we would like to think that our friend David Ascanio is part of your number? Mejores Deseos!

Watcher of the Skies - Genesis

Watcher of the Skies - Genesis 
(Live Shepperton Studios 1973) 

Out of step with what has become routine on the days we spend within the bounds of our Recording Area, on Saturday we decided to stray from that particular path of righteousness and spend the last 3 hours of daylight on the Heath. A profitable call from the start as this presumed 'young' (last years brood) male

KESTREL

was highlighted in the bright sunshine

 against an

azure sky.

 The only problem with Saturday's, or any weekend day for that matter,

is that

Flying Officer Kite

and all of his fellow Airmen on on the wing or in this case rotor.

EUROCOPTER EC-120B COLIBRI

 It was noticeable from the moment we entered the Heath via the 5-bar gate

that there a lot more birds flitting about, even compared with our early morning visit, but the

 GREEN WOODPECKER

 (or should we more correctly say one of at least 2 pairs)

contented itself on a preferred feeding patch.

STONECHAT

 have been all but absent over the past few weeks, save for one that

did obligingly put in an appearance on New Year's Day.

 Love those Eyes!

 There must have been close to a dozen on the day.

and still they come

G-TOUR

appears to be a

ROBIN-2112 ALPHA

It was quickly discovered that taking up station close to one of the

AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS

would be an advantage as at least one representative of the species

present used the structure as a 'preening post' prior to going to roost,

 such as

MEADOW PIPIT
While 1 or 2

DARTFORD WARBLER

 have been in evidence during the past couple of days,

numbers had certainly increased to between 6 and 8 that afternoon.

 STONECHAT

 MEADOW PIPIT

DARTFORD WARBLER

Entry	Pageviews
Russia	816
United States	596
United Kingdom	371
Germany	51
France	51
Ukraine	21
Estonia	13
Netherlands	11
China	8
South Korea	8

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Not being much of a one for TV, oh if only there was the time, it would be fair to say that my occasional dabblings are usually confind to Channel Hoping and then more often than not with nothing to tickle the 'grey-matter'. To the contrary last night when

US Rock Anthems

featured on BBC4 and was thought worthy of a hour or so.
Chronologically presented, rather that an individual selection, the
archetypes were of course Hold the Line - Toto,
I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner, Eye of the Tiger - Survivor et al,
all worthy of merit in their own right but paled against my particular favourites.
Apart from Alice (one of the Top 5 Rock Acts ever enjoyed Live) announcing 'Schools Out'
it was

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT

Don't Fear the Reaper 
who were very slightly eclipsed by the sensation 'Grunge' that was

NIRVANA

(Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic)

Smells Like Teen Spirit

BONUS TRACK also NIRVANA

Come As You Are

and

 second only to the version by Lulu!

 The Man Who Sold the World

With overnight temperatures still hovering around +7 to +8°C there was again a winter opportunity to catch a Moth of two. Having put out a second trap there was twice the chance but before attending to then, or even setting foot on terra firma the distinctive song of a

REED BUNTING
 could be heard from what seemed quite a distance away.

 Temporarily forsaking the traps for a while, preferring to add another
species to the Recording Area Year List a fine male bird was located.

 As if somehow trying to hamper my progress, half way to the first trap a

 CETTI'S WARBLER
offered a burst of song making for a second addition.
Moth-wise all that was in the collective traps was a

DOTTED BORDER
making for a hat-trick of 'firsts' and a 

 species of

ICHNEUMON WASP
Our first attempt, early morning, to photograph the c2 newly arrived

CANADA GEESE
on the Gravel Pit came to nought due to the foggy conditions, but

 returning a little later in the morning

 after the Sun had shown its hand

 things were much better.
Also there were c5 male

 GADWALL
along with this female (left)

Not the sort of fare we usually snap at but of interest

 was the leg adornment on the cock
PHEASANT
As far as we know none are ringed in this part of the world.

 On the way back and high in the trees

a party of upward of 50

 SISKIN

only an occasional but most welcome visitor here.
During this short stop it was thought that a

 SKYLARK

was heard, which with a short search was proven and also added to our
Recording Area Year List.

Footnote:- An late afternoon visit to the heath yesterday produced an influx of Stonechat into double figures, well over 100 Meadow Pipit and at least 6 distinctly seperate Dartford Warbler. Images will be posted when time allows.

Entry	Pageviews
Russia	776
United States	654
United Kingdom	365
Germany	51
Ukraine	30
France	27
Estonia	12
China	9
South Korea	8
Canada	6