Roy Wood's - Helicopters

Just one of Wood's brain child's along with 
The Move, Wizzard, Electric Light Orchestra he could have stollen the 
World of Rock 'n' Roll
on his own. It was a great privilege to have met the man on 2 seperate occassions
 but in the exact same place, his local pub

 The Bull Inn - Repton - Derbyshire
With overnight temperatures now hovering between

+6°C and +10°C

there has been something of a small increase across the traps

but no mass invasion or rarities but a nice little tickler were

c4 Firsts for the Year!

 COMMON SWIFT
(we hope the next Common Swift is the Bird of the same name)

 TREBLE-BAR

YELLOW SHELL

LYCHNIS
and this

 BUFF-TIP
 hanging on doggedly to the car wing mirror.
Otherwise, one of the parent

MAGPIES
seem to be patiently waiting for the nippers to fledge, who are 
next door neighbours to me in the Wellingtonia tree.
As far as is known there is still only the single egg in the

 MUTE SWAN

but the potential parents are by no means full time incubators?
With little, or more accurately, nothing inbetween we headed directly for the 
Heath
and directly into a most welcome refind of the

 RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGEs

 By no means a 'given'

 they can hide themselves away for weeks or months at a time

 but on the day the male bird was vocal and can just be heard
 above the sounds of the airport.

Always a Good Day - Partridge Day!
All of the trees and other plants here are now in full leaf,
all except that is for the Heather which seems to be dragging it heels but even the latest

 ALDER BUCKTHORN
is just about there while the

GUELDER ROSE
A bit of a flurry among the feeding

LINNET FLOCK
but now time to turn the 
Reptile Covers

 from where only a single Herp was found

 but veiing with Sand Lizard as to the BEST species we have on offer, an

ADDER

We can almost put hand on heart and say

THE ADDER

as showing all the signs and size of last years single and under the exact same cover?

All else beneath was an

ANTS NEST

where there cannot be many creatures outside of the

INSECTS

where the Eggs are bigger than the Adults?

The first and only 'flying' aircraft of the day was the usual

Royal Naval
MERLIN
followed in fairly quick succession by the

COASTGUARD RESCUE
The First for the Year

 SMALL COPPER BUTTERFLY
was found.

 From our observations it would be true to say that this adult male
BLACKBIRD
is awaiting the arrival of his brood but for some of the

 MISTLE THRUSHES

 the wait is over with the arrival of these juveniles.
As a

tail-piece we took a little time to snap and vid the local
COLLARED DOVE

which is not always quite so obliging!

Going to My Home Town - Rory Gallager

"sorry but I can't take you"
(that's just how the lyric goes, I can really)
What with the Korean invasion continuing we have faltered slightly

as for todays post we have to go back as far as Friday.

For what it's worth the day started with a passage of the

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

with the clip not even reaching the also rans for the BAFTA's.

A drive across to Portland has been a long time coming but with the

restrictions being partly lifted the time seemed right and off we went.

 In the first instance to

 FERRYBRIDGE
on which I was standing to get this shot with the southern end of
CHESIL BEACH

 while in the other direction is the
FLEET
a body of water seperated from the open sea by the full
18 miles length of Chesil Beach partly carpeted by

 SEA TRIFT
at this time of year.
Probably the most facinating fact about Chesil Beach is that the tides here naturally
sort the pebbles by size with the larger boulders at the Portland (south) end
and the 'pea-likes' at the other (Abbotsbury).

 THRIFT
A Wading bird or two were hoped for but on a first cursory scan there were none to be seen, but at this time of year there is an avian sight which would outshine most expected shore birds!

 LITTE TREN

 26 of them at the first count just capture the imagination

 You can here their chattering.

and thinking to myself I would have walked the 35 miles just to witness this spectacle.

 Having lived in this area for most of my life there was a feeling of certainty
about meeting someone I know and who better than friend of more that 30 years

BOB FORD
something of a 'journeyman' in the briding world and who had counted 30 Terns,
we'll have to do something about that!
(GREAT to see you Sir)
An all to short chat with us both getting about our respective searches

 before a second distraction in the shape of this rather nicely liveried

In some cases you can see these birds have been 'ringed'
this is usually done while still nestlings.

 HELICOPTER

 The Terns didn't bat an eyelid at the low-flier as with the 
Royal Navy Helicoper Base
having been stationed just a mile or so away (before its disbandment)
the sound of these aircraft is likely part of their DNA?
 It was the distinct calls of

 OYSTERCATCHER
that alerted me to the first of the Waders, just c3 but worth a walk down the the
Low Water Mark

 whre this small
SPIDER CRAB SHELL
was also found.

These were followed by the same number of

DUNLIN
and an unknown number of  very distant

 RINGED PLOVER

so distant we had to scurry to the archive for these images.
A couple of scenic shots while walking over the bridge looking back on the

 ISLE of PORTLAND
not technecly an island, but who's counting, along with

 SANDSFOOT CASTLE
built by Henry VIII,
and can clearly remember seeing him hauling all that cement up to the ramparts,
on the Weymouth side.

 Time for a quick last look at the

LITTLE TERNs

now catching fish avidly

 before heading onward to

PORTLAND

for nothing more than a mini-seawatch

as the chopper returned

flying directly overhead.

When you've spent as much time on the 

Ocean Wave

'sea-watching' for birds somehow seems the least favoured genre in the hobby however,

always good to see even the common fare such as Gannet, Razorbill, Kittiwake, maybe a Great Skua, Puffin and Common Scotter but when you feel we are all in

LOCK DOWN

spare a thought for Portland.

With adequate updates on the situation from Martin Cade, Warden at the

 PORTLAND BIRD OBSERVATORY
which is still under full restrictions

it was a bit of a shock to find the 

Bill Car Park

closed as well, but looks like they are utilising the time to refurbish it and the surrounds.

Not a single layby to plonk the Strange Rover so an early return to Slight Return II
BEST WISHES and STAY SAFE!