Africa - Toto (Part II)

Another extremely soggy and windy day yesterday, and looks like more to come, so hope another vist to Africa will bring some cheer to your Sunday!

We can only feature a 'drop' from the mighty ocean that was our 3 weeks tour of Madagascar back in 2010. When Toto croon "hurry boy (girl) it's waiting there for you" if there were but a single recomendation across The Dark Continent then this is it - only Antarctica surpasses it!

It's a no-brainer as to which species should kick off this event as miraculously the only Bird found on the Island that ever set foot in Great Britain, but more correctly Portland, Dorset.

It goes something like this, so please correct me if wrong, but Martin Cade the Warden of the Portland Bird Observatory recieved a telephone call from a lady walker along the West Cliff path on 10 February 2002, reporting that she had picked up an injured Moorhen during her dalliance. As is the nature of the beast, he was there within minutes but no-one could imaging his reaction when he opened the temporary shelter of the cardboard box to find a moribund

ALLAN'S GALLINULE
It was kept alive for as long as possible, even being administered a blast of oxygen, but it was only the Fated Few who got to see it alive. We'll say no more except to point out that it was the most severe case of self flagulation to telephone Bird Line that evening from the Oil Rig to be informed of this find! It was seen in the freezer some days later and yes we are CERTAIN we saw it twitch!

The vast majority of the following are Endemics but not the above.

BAOBAB TREEs
almost the insignia of the Island

CHABERT'S VANGA

VERREAUX'S SIFAKA

BROAD-BILLED ROLLER

We have no idea of the identification of Flora there so just a series of pretty pictures.

MADAGASCAR BEE-EATER

RED-FRONTED LEMUR

TERRAIN

NILE CROCODILE

APPET'S GREENBUL
a real sculker and rarity.

HUBBARD'S SPORTIVE LEMUR

CACTUS

TOMB BAT

no shortage of them.

FOSSA
is a Cat-like, carnivorous mammal endemic to Madagascar and a member of the Eupleridae family closely related to the Mongoose. We were privileged to see c3 of them in all.

WHITE-FOOTED SPORTIVE LEMUR

GOLDEN BAMBOO LEMUR

PALM TYPE

RING-TAILED LEMUR

LITTORAL ROCK THRUSH

COQUEREL'S SIFAKA

BROWN MOUSE LEMUR

MADAGASCAR FLYING-FOX

EASTERN BAMBOO LEMUR

CACTUS TYPE

RED-FRONTED BROWN LEMUR
and a little trinket brought back from all corners of the continent

ELEPHANT-HAIR BRACELETS
(but not from this corner as there are no pachyderms)
always a crowd pleaser as a product of the enterprising Mahouts who
fashion them from the tail hairs of the Bulls. However, always presented this end with a little story of being sat on the verandah at sunset with a pint and high powered rifle waiting for the hapless creature to arrive at the watering hole - 'a bite every time'!

Thorn in My Side - Eurythmics

 The appearance of a rare bird in Norfolk over the past few days has caused mighty fervour, which in birding terminology amounts to a

Mega Twitch!

RUFOUS BUSHCHAT

has not been seen in Great Britain for 40 years or more and is not a species that is on my own GB List, but has drummed up a whole host of good memories. If they serve me correctly, it was me who found the first on a holiday to the Greek Island of Lesvos in the company of one of my all time favourite birding mates Ken Parker in 2003.

Agreed to have been a decent find, my moment of glory was short lived as the very next day he happened upon an

UPCHER'S WARBLER
which we both readily agreed was a much more quality find! It would seem we have digressed even before getting into the ups and downs of the day as the

Sun went 'Down',
leaving in its wake what could be described as a Mackerel Sky, and with the temperature having gone 'Up' to a balmy +17°C for the first part of the night at least. Next to come 'Down' was the rain, in heavy pulses throughout the night

Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down. My roof's got a hole in it and I might drown

The Serendipity Singers

 The wind also got 'Up' as did we at 05:15 and later found a first for the year

FEATHERED THORN

clinging to the paling fence.

additionally, there was this

SATELLITE

WHITE-POINT

DARK SWORD-GRASS
and

GREEN BRINDLED CRESCENT
and from further afield, Weymouth in fact John sends us this

CRAB SPIDER
from one of his traps and ditto from Dave a rather special and somewhat scarce

BRINDLED OCHRE

never seen personally.

Otherwise, all the day amounted to was a

 resting

ROE DEER
at the Irrigation Pond along with the seemingly now resident c4 Mute Swans

while next door at the Gravel Pit there were new arrivals in the shape of

a pair of

 TEAL

The Male

joining the now settled pair of
GADWALL
and as we 'sat and stared' in dropped a juvenile

 juvenile

MUTE SWAN

The eerily quiet Heath offered up no more than an

unusually confiding

STOCK DOVE
before heading off to the southern end of the property in search of
Winter Thrushes.

Stopping only briefly to admire the

HOLLY
as we had done so with the Dog Rose a few days ago.
No Thrushes were found but, the sight of the newly ploughed and harrowed

 18-ACRE FIELD,
in readiness for next years Maize crop, added some hope.

A number of counts averaged out at

47

but surely there will be more to come

once the word gets out!

We sign off today's post with a pathetic but irresistable pun

MERVIELLE du JOUR

perch on a 'Brick', which is also a species of Moth, but in this instance of the

Building Variety! Don't laugh, you'll only make it worse!