Castles Made of Sand - Jimi Hendrix Part I

While Moth counts have expectedly dwindled after Friday’s bonanza, over the past 3 days what might be considered a Winter ‘highlight’ amounted to a single

SATELLITE

whereas the total of Mammal species recorded here over the last 2 weeks is unprecedented, the list totalling:- Red Fox, Rabbit, Roe Deer, Wood Mouse, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Short-tailed Field Vole (still thriving underneath the caravan), Mole (as represented by fresh early Bronze Age earthworks popping up all over the place on a daily basis), Brown Rat and Badger.

Additionally we also received a most welcome and interesting document from John Gifford concerning another of our favourites

AUDOUIN’S GULL 

Now reported as breeding, for the first time, along the French Atlantic coastline and bringing back memories of our only encounter with such in Morocco in 2006. Ostensibly not a ‘birding’ trip at all, but some would sure come our way, but a long desire to follow in the footsteps of my all time hero

James Marshall (JIMI) Hendrix.

Don't You Know Were Riding on the Marrakech Express - Crosby, Stills and Nash.

In 1967 he is said to have taken the path from Rabat to Essauira, sticking pretty much to the coast, except for a diverssion to Marrakech which was the track to be followed except for my starting point being Casablanca. It is also recorded that he found much inspiration for the album

AXIS BOLD AS LOVE

but more particularly the track Castles Made of Sand which is said to document his all to short life.

Lush Vegetation with a backdrop of the

ATLAS MOUNTAINS
and

AUDOUIN'S GULLs

prolific but distant at 2 or 3 coastal location with a tidy flock of

BALD IBIS

at one estuary.

A bit of a lottery as far as the few small hotels in Essauira were concerned

as each claiming to be

the one in which Jimi stayed this being the one that most caught my eye

and also assuring me that it was his bed I would be sleeping, just best to go with the flow and get the best out of it, but at least there were authentic

HOUSE BUNTINGs
on the windowsill and images of

My Man

on the bulkheads.

Part II to follow as 'n' when!

A Bird in the Hand is Worth - Part II

               As far as Birds in the Hand are concerned, as well as the membership of the                           Portland Bird Observatory

a huge quirk of fate found me serving on Semi-submersible Oil Rigs in the North Sea for quite a number of years. Ostensibly, they cover 3 disciplines Drilling, Accommodation (Floating Hotels) and Production. Having served in all 3 classes and in order as above

STENA HUNTER

BORGLAND DOLPHIN
which at the time was home to tradesmen building the Tiffiny Platform and where on one weekend boxer Jim Watt and football manager Malcolm Alison came out to entertain us.
No alchohol remember but what a couple of nights in the onboard theatre,

and the girl we all loved
BUCHAN ALPHA
now lying in pieces in a Scottish scrap yard or beyond!

The common denominator was of course Birds with the Buchan being far more productive where at night during migrations it would be true to say a MILLON may pass overhead. 

Many however simply fell to their deaths, into the sea or on deck, due to exhaustion but others were happy to stop over for a rest. Feeding them was a strict no no as a danger to our regular helicoper flights.

Just a very few of the Casualties that would be wrapped and sent to the
North Sea Bird Club prior to Bird Flu.

WATER RAIL
(annual)

BLACK-HEADED GULL
(not quite as common as one migt think)

It was tradition and also good manners to give the Captain of our ever present

Standby Boat the Far Seeker 

a call on the radion just before mid-night if only to check that all was well.

That particular night Captain Ron Main (later to become a shipmate on the Buchan - long story)

was delighted to tell me that the crew, fit and well, also had a gift for me. 

Believed to be a House Martin and a Linnet, both alive, he suggested a time to throw down a line to complete the transfer. A taped up Twix chocolate box was found inside the mail bag which was better opened in my cabin in case of an escpee only to find that the House Martin was a

STORM PETREL
which to none-Birders was considered a 'good shout, while just as plausable a

LITTLE BUNTING
The Petrel was dried and fed on fish oil and reported to Ron that it would be released back to the wild late afternoon. His reply was that "it is handy to have an 'expert' on hand while there was a small gathering of crew members on one of the columns prior to release. With all the Bon Voyages in place it was gently dropped into the sea where within a flash it became an early Hors d'oeuvre to a Great Black-backed Gulls supper - alway good to have an 'expert' on hand!

As for the Bunting it faired much better as we got immediate permission to have it flown ashore on the next crew-change chopper. It was collected by a licenced 'bird ringer' from the village of Stonehaven just south of Aberdeen,

 banded and also released 

to a fare better fate!

MEALY REDPOLL

another casualty and unfortunatly a 'live one' was never recorded.
It is not known how he knew it was my birthday but in burst the
Duty Engineer
carrying a paper bag and issuing his greatings, there have been worse gifts than

LITTLE STINT
The largest ever handled was certainly this juvenile

GEAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
while among the smallest

YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER
were annual and often numerous.

LAPLAND BUNTING

was also a lucky but solo record.

Even at some distance the promenant white wing-bar on the bird stuck out like a sore thumb,
something of a heart-stopper, but taken below it was seen to be white paint rather than the markings of the extremely rare Two-barred Crossbill.

Best until Last

The 'Skylark' huddled among the stout manilla ropes of the Heli-deck anti-slid netting during a mid-night rounds already looked water-logged so time to employ the trustly kid's fishing net. Taken below, it was eventually seen to be a

SHORT-TOED LARK
a scarce visitor to our shores and up to this day still the only one on the

North Sea Bird Club List

All in a Mouse's Night - Genesis

 With all sorts going on we have fallen a little behind so without dates todays Post covers the last couple of days or so. We can however tell that the last of the (max of +12°C) attracted something of an incredible haul from the Moth Traps.

No signs last night of the Geminid Meteor Shower despite a reasonably open sky but a

WANING CRESCENT MOON

on Saturday and the first 'finger-nail' of the New Moon would have appeared had yesterday had weather conditions allowed. However, overnight temperatures have continued to remain unseasonably high as on Saturday morning out of c7 species there were singles of Yellow-line Quaker, Dark Chestnut and Red-line Quaker, all highlighted in recent days, c7 Winter Moth (ditto) a single

possibly immigrant

SILVER Y

c3

MOTTLED UMBER

and an outlandish

c157

DECEMBER MOTHs
Fear not as Donald Trump has already demanded a recount or legal action!
As if there were time for more we found the/a returning

KINGFISHER
on the Gravel Pit with no more than the c3 Little Grebes for company.
The also slightly overwhelming run on Mammals also continues all likely 'bunkering' fat to sustain them through the Long Sleep to come which also started on the Heath with what might have been the

same

BADGER

at the same location as recorded back in the Summer?

BADGER GRUBBINGs

A last look back at a still slightly misty Heath before being met at the
Solar Panel Compound gate by 2

GREY SQUIRRELs
one posing, the other camera shy. What have been a scarce so far this year are Northern Thrushs so c4 in total

FIELDFARE

were a most welcome sight, Again given the mild weather why would they want, or need, to transit the 450 odd miles or so from Scotland to the coast of Dorset

while there are still likely stacks of groceries in Jock-ville.
On our way back to pay our 4th visit to the
River Stour
since recieving all those reports of sightings from the local anglers we found the second NEW

Eddie Stobbart Lorry Lady

tucked up in a lay-by before spotting c2 of the c3

iceberg-like

OTTERs
from the bank side.
A mixed day of some curiosities ended in the same vein when we found this

WOOD MOUSE

gorging in the bottom of a deep Pheasant Feeding Bin which may have qualified for
hapless had we not happened along. With a pinch of the tail it was released to the
Wild World once again with a couple of handsful of corn to go with it.
ALL's WELL THAT END's WELL!