Something in the Air - Thunderclap Newman

Having only spent close to 50 years at sea you will readily understand that profanities are one thing I have always steered clear of (yours sincerely Pinocchio). However, I am prepared to stray from the path of righteousness, just this once, to utter a BLINKIN’ ECK! On opening the Blog to prepare yesterday’s post a massive 2474 hits met my eye which, if my memory serves me, is an ‘all time’ day record. Not absolutely certain where that came from, but heartening to find the link is being passed on as requested to all, while the finger of suspicion is gravitating towards you ‘Bomber’?  

Self Portrait

from left to right founder members

Speedy Keen, Jimmy McCulloch (a very young c1966) Pete Towshend (laterly with the Who) 

and Andy (Thunderclap) Newman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTZoJ01FpD8

What a generation to be a teenager, mid-60's to mid 70's and all I needed was a glimpse 

of one of my sisters Pop Magazines. There on the front cover was a picture of The Kinks complete with mohair, 4 buttoned, collarless burgundy suits and me dashing post-haste down to Burton's Tailors on St Mary's Street, Weymouth to get measured up. Already down to the plimsoll-line with debt the matching ensemble of almond toed, button-up side 'high-heeled' boots, collarless white shirt with lace bib and cuffs with somewhat shortened hair I was a Mod!

During all of this an orange cravat was considered but thought better of it as I didn't want to look ridicules??

 

With sister Pamela, Weymouth Promenade 1966

(All the Young Dudes carry the news)   

But there was certainly something else in the air!

 In line with yesterday's 'minor bang' this mornings retort was somewhat louder and no less sweet and somewhat predictable as the water levels decline across the River Stour. Even from the doorstep we could hear the flute like 'refrain' of the skulking

of the 'skulking'

CETTI'S WARBLER
which is always far more often heard than seen.

The noun refrain is chossen wisely a usually once they do flash up there is no stopping them.

Skulking also fits perfectly, except on very lucky occassions such as a week ago at Longham Lakes, where these images  and clip were captured, we very rarely see them here.

As a continuation of the introduction to our Recording Area (RA) for those who are not familiar, this post had already been pigeonholed for that purpose but came with a bit of a bonus.

A call from Adrian Tugwell to alert me to the arrival of the Solar Panel Cleaning Team, which he never fails to do after something of a bad start, not attributed to him or his crews.

(A longish tale of woe which we may cover in detail at a later date)

I am told that the detritus gathering on the panes can at time cut production by as much as 20%, a shilling or two in itself, so the cleaning takes place at least twice a year. 

Being a property of 2 seperate halves, you have to transit the B3073 from the Southern Sector

 to get to the northern side before reaching the bridleway

Northbound 

towards the Sewerage Works

and

Southbound

 towards home. either side there are Solar Panel compounds, 9 in all, which

on completion of the build was considered the largest of its type in Europe.

 Since then I have yarned with the Tugwell people who tell me their work streches as far as

Holland where some of the continuous runs of panels are 2 to 3 Km long.

We cannot compete with that!

What over the years had been sown with a veriety of cash crops the last of these was turf production which is hard and and intensive work.

I should know I've 'watched' these people for hours!

The main feature of the largest of these, designated Munich by the German construction crews, is an

Early Bronze Age Tumuli

(looking east)

which is not known to have been excavated, except by the 

 BADGERS

but along with the 2 others on the property are valuable to the history of Dorset

HERE COMES the PLANT

 PLENTY OF WATER NEEDED IN THIS GAME

Residents here include a pair of

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE 

which arrived soon after construction was completed but even though considered a 'pair'

this introduced species from the Continent find it almost impossible to breed in GB.

Here come

The Boys From the Wet Stuff

Other onlookers included the first

MEADOW PIPIT's

Mipits Bathing

and the reappearance of,

or another

GREEN SANDPIPER

Had enough yet? and pass the on Link please!

Into the Great Wide Open - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakes

 from the eponymous album

 Th Daily Doings

Started with something of a minor bang as the first 

 SKYLARK
 to grace the Recording Area (RA) this year hovered directly above Slight II singing its little heart out at first light,
now we know it is Spring?Adiquately endorsed by our Broadwey (Weymouth) correspondent

who reports the first Frog Spawn in his garden pond.
Additionally, in a passing shower and attempting to emulate the
Portland Bird Obsevatory
in coaxing a Blackcap into the garden, we did attract a 4th species to the stratigically placed apples.

 Having only just resited the apples from the shelter of the
Corkscrew Hazel
Into the Great Wide Open

 BLACKBIRD
(cor that fence ain't half rockin' about)

 now joins Blue Tit, Robin and Wren on the
Cox's Orange Pippin List
and to continue the familiarisation of our RA, not suprisingly the Sewerage Works that marks the northern boundry is one of, if not 'the' most prolific site across the RA. Blessed with having restricted access to the works, when activity is at an ebb, the usually expected Wagtails, Pipits and assorted Gulls are the main fare but it is the 'cultivated not natural'

HEDGE

that shelters the Good Stuff.
We have shown Gold and Firecrests in previous posts, which are annual,
but historically it has been the loan

 BLACK REDSTART

 there across the winter of 2015 / 16,

(with c3 others since at various locations)

plus c2 quite seperate
Yellow-browed Warbler
in 2017 and 19
There were c2 others in previous years at other locations but all fell into the catagory of
Camera Shy 
 To redress this we can field some images taken on the
Buchan Alpha Floating Oil Production Platform in the North Sea
where these tiny birds were annual, occassionaly numerous (low double figures on certain days)
and very easy to catch. In fact my Birding Apprentice then, Dave Penney, voiced the analogy refering to these captures as similar to picking blackberries.
Most were dried, warmed, boxed and sent ashore on the next helicopter.

We also know how to attract the Ladies, just show them around a
Sewerage Works
and they are putty in the proverbial, which became fact on one of the Australian jaunts.
If the memory serves we will try and dig out some images?

The Helicopter Safety Netting seemed to be a particularly good attractant for these tiny Warblers

The final batch from Norfolk

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER

 KNOT

GOLDEN PLOVER

 RED KITE

 RUFF

MEDITERRANEAN GULL

 GREY PLOVER

 RED-THROATED DIVER

SANDERLING
What a weekend Great Birds, Great Company, Great County