"ROSIE" [sic] - Don Partridge

Weatherwise yesterday was a very dull day and with not a lot to show and,

looking out there as we knock up this post, it looks likely to be worse today?

However, there is an antidote by way of a couple of images send by one of our

Weymouth correspondents who ventured further afield (about 2 miles to Southill) to capture this fine beauty.

 ROSY STARLING

 If this doesn't start your day with a BANG then I might have to pop round with the Boys?

Like the man said, if you have any flocks of Starlings in your area

it may be rewarding to sift through them to find one of these as there has been an influx lately.

 Only a single new species of Moth for the year a

 FOUR-DOTTED FOOTMAN

 but along with it

 a miniscule

 RED-LEGGED SHIELDBUG NYMPH
(thanks John)

 and the second of the year

PRIVET HAWK-MOTH

just couldn't resist sharing it!

Otherwise on the main pond a Whitethroat was heard but not seen as the parent

 CANADA GEESE

are now parading their new arrivals

to a

Wider Audience

 Holding on to the same theme at the Gravel Pit the now rapidly growing

COOT CHICK

continues to do well.

We thought that was all of it, but leaving the pond-side a movement

 in the reeds proved to be another

 COOT'S NEST

 with again just a single youngster but carrying out what was considered to be 

Strange Behaviour

Building or Repairing the Nest

we have never noted such a thing before and before  leaving the lone

Juvenile Little Grebe 

hove into view seemingly doing very well as is the also 'single'

Juv MOORHEN

Getting towards the end of the day we decided to have a

GALA BIRD EXPERIENCE

that is to say, we threw the remains of yesterday's lunch a

Gala Pie

onto the lawn and just waited, camera in hand, to view what turned up.

 It didn't amount to a great deal

but feel we rather overlook or ignor completely the more common species such as

 BLACK-HEADED GULL

(we could watch them all day)

 now rather well fed

WOOD PIGEON

 along with female

BLACKBIRD

which wasn't hanging around for any footage!

The Woody Woodpecker Song - Old TV Theme Song

Don't know whether it's for fear of a 'Chinese Burn' or 'Chicken Peck' at playtime

but we have recieved a couple of most interesting images from our outside Correspondents in the last couple of days. The first of these came as a trio from three of my Weymouth oppo's of a seriously rare creature and a seriously admirable find, the Pupae of a

 LARGE TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY

the first ever to be found in Dorset and we congratulate you John.

 Just to emphasis what a 'belter' this may become we have 'borrowed'

 a couple of images from the Internet.

Otherwise, from a little further afield 

The West Riding of Yorkshire

to be precise and while scarce not quite as 'rare' as that above!

SMOOTH NEWT

from my dear ol' shipmate

Jim the Medic.

On a night of decent conditions the Moth Traps did produce a couple of 

new species for the year with

 COMMON MARBLED CARPET

 and the totally underwhelming and tiny

PINION-STREAKED SNOUT

After that, all that was on parade out in the field were

WOODPECKERS

not just one but all 3 of the resident species.

Not surprisingly as frequent right outside the door these days came both

adult and juvenile

 juvenile

adult

 GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

 juvenile.

this being the only video footage we have ever been able to capture

 WORK

 Still in Progress

However there was just the one day when c4 Woodpeckers were recorded here.

16th August 2017

was notable for the sighting of the only known

 WRYNECK,

 an uncommon migrant from mainland Europe, to grace our

Recording Area

as shown.

For a bit of a closer look one of our many visits to the

Portland Bird Observatory

coincided with one having just been plucked from a

 Mist Net

and the Warden. Martin Cade kindly permitting me to

observe the 'ringing and measuring' process!

Sheep - Pink Floyd

From the Album

Animals

After the 'goodies' of Sunday it was rather a case of

After the Lord Mayor's Show

and with the overnight temperature only able to cling to rather low double digits

there was little to recover from the Moth Traps.

Best of the Bunch and both First's for the Year were the rather delightful

LILAC BEAUTY

along with a little less colourful

CREAM WAVE

 A rather poor crack at 

snapping and videoing this juvenile

 GREENFINCH

was fllowed by a wander through the  

 OX-EYE DAISIES

to the bank of the River Stour to find that the neighbouring farmer had managed to

MOW and BALE his HAY

Best get that under cover before the predicted 'heavy rain' arrives on Thursday

and also to find the first 

 MARSH MARIGOLDS

 starting to bloom, we will try to bring you a 'full carpet' in days to come.

Good and Bad news from the main pond-side where the new arrival

 LLAMA'S

seem to have settled into their 

 new surroundings and where the 

Mute Swans

Have finally abandoned their 4th attempt to procreate?

Up until this morning we had recorded but c4

 SAND MARTIN

so something of a 'golden moment' to find this singleton briefly resting on the

 Solar Panel Compound Fence.

Unfortunately, it would seem that gone are the days when these scenes were

the norm here!

 2016

was the optimum year

Nest Hole

ADULTS

 JUVENILES!

and just look at that plumage - 'stunning'

FAMILY GROUP

in that year there were 36 nest holes most, if not all, producing young.

On the Heath the

 VETCH

 is starting to take hold

 but all else new from there was the arrival of this new

AIRBUS

with fancy blue livery.

According to the Shepherdess all is not well in the Solar Panel Compound as

shortage of rain was the reason for very little 

Spring Grass.

Hopelessly passing your time in the grassland away
Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air
You better watch out
There may be dogs about
I've looked over Jordan, and I have seen
Things are not what they seem

They came to weigh the Ewes and the Lamb today but the signs are not good!

What do you get for pretending the danger's not real
Meek and obedient you follow the leader
Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel
What a surprise

The look of terminal shock in your eyes
Now things are really what they seem
No, this is no bad dream

 All else within were about 18 distant

 LAPWING

including

a number of

juvenile birds.