Young at Heart - The Bluebells

With no NEW Moths it was left to something much larger to represent the

Winged Division!

 BRITISH AIRWAYS JUMBO JET

Rumours have been rife for a few days now that the fleet of similar

BA owned aircraft are going to be leaving 

Bournemouth International Airport

in the near future with this being the first we have witnessed

 while these remain the images across the pan.

while 'cargo' keeps rolling along!

While we haven't as much as seen an

 EGYPTIAN GOOSE

in the last 4 to 6 weeks today we maybe found the reason why

 as transiting the 

Moors River

 out from cover

 stomped this little lot, refreshing to know they are still doing it on our patch!

While something even bigger and taller manifested itself, it was only as a

result of clicking a wrong file in our search for other things that the enigmatic

 GREAT BLUE HERON

 got to be shown here anyway. 

Seemed a shame just to close the file on what on this giant from the America's, which

if my memory serves me correctly, or one has not sneaked in via the back door,

has only visited our shores just a single time.

Having seen plenty 'across the pond' doesn't preclude wanting to seen on in the UK.

Not a lot else to be seen as this

 WHITETROAT

put in an all to brief and very fidgety

 appearance.

As if we had not had our fill of

'The Young Ones'

it was on the Heath that it was the turn of a juvenile

 DARTFORD WARBLR

 watched over by vocal parent birds

 as practising the craft of catching

Common Heath Moths

which are now abundant there.

GRASS SNAKE

was a welcome find but

a little to camera-shy when it came to videoing.

A juvenile

STONECHAT

once again proved to be irresistable

Finally, within the Solar Panel Compoud we once again encountered the

 now seemingly singular which we had intended to highlight about 10 days ago

when encountered on the Heath.

There were concerns even then that the presumed femal bird had been

predated or fallen to Old Father Time

but now about a mile from that original spot he again remains alone.

The concern arises as since being first found in 2017 they have 'never' 

been seen alone

so these are strange happenings but we remain hopeful!

"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!