A Relatively Dull Day at the Office

    Despite the overnight temperature remaining in low double figures the much hoped for early year Hat Trick

did not materialise, although if our friend Bomber down there in Weymouth had been a little more generous with his well won

CHESTNUT
we would have done so!

However, the gloomy, rainy, windy day started once again with a 'vocalist', always most welcome,

which continued singing well into daylight hours when we were able to catch just a little of the

delightful

strains

of a

none too distant

SONG THRUSH
and how welcome on such a day would it have been had this

Mutant Goose
been a thoroughbred Greylag to add to the Year List?
Similarly afflicted are the

MUSCOVY DUCKs

which we have recorded 'wild' in South America.

While it was considered hardly worth the effort, the

STARLING
High Wire Dance Routine
was captured but also thought worthy of a little backing from the

archive of a

Bird in the Hand!
While there was no connection, it was a fact that the further north we got
the worse the weather became but did once again crack-off a couple of shots of

variably plumaged

PIED WAGTAIL
soon to be joined by a

GREY WAGTAIL

flushed by a van

before the video clip could be fully completed.
With the weather now prohibitve and all other areas seemingly devoid
we might have added this final note a week ago when there was a

large influx of

WRENs

but it sometimes takes us

CODGERS

time to do so!

Anything is Better Than Nothing

 A more than acceptable early start to the day as at 04:30 the yaffling of at least one, but maybe 2,

GREEN WOODPECKER
could be heard from the direction of the Farm Yard while at first light

it was just a 'single' that graced the tennis court a regular feeding ground
and a First for the Year. 

With the overnight air temperature just maintaining double figures again there were most welcome returnes from the Moth Traps

as within the first was this

MINOTAUR BEETLE

while in the other our second Macro of the year a single

DECEMBER MOTH

It was soon found that the Pochard had also abandoned ship with just about the only single representative at the Main Pond being this mist-soaked

ROOK
With all other watercorses still ice bound we felt lucky in finding another First for the Year

CANADA GEESE

taking the 'high ground' at the Gravel Pit and

later along the course of the Moors River and while none of these really qualified as 'good finds', despite their addition, we then arrived at a birdless Moor.

Given that, our attention then turned to the
  Guardians of the Moth Traps (firstly Belted Galloway and Shetland)

as they disappeared into the rapidly clearing day

but we should not leave the

OLD ENGLISH WHITE
out of the frame.
Suspicions of a Dartford Warbler en-route to the
Rare Breeds Goat Enclosure

were abandoned due to lack of conclusive evidence, but will save until another day,

where all were, unusually, within range and view.

FRENCH ALPINE
(singular)

BAGOT
(x 5)

OLD ENGLISH
(x 3)

WE WILL BE OUT THERE AGAIN SHORTLY LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENT
meanwhile
STAY SAFE!

The Return of the Prodigals

 A boon to find +9°C on the gauge as we swung into the hammock on Tuesday evening but having clipped +10°C by dawn, made for the first overnight double figure this year!

However, there was a catch as the wind had been howling throughout while the rain started in earnest at 04:00, likely the reason for the slack hammock reported previously! With such a temperature and both home-based Moth Traps burning brightly it was simply a matter of the rain passing through before we could attend them but itchy feet sent us on a mini-rounds

At the pondside one of the local

KESTRELs

was already keeping vigil from above as a

Charm of Goldfinches
appeared to be chancing their arm a little while

SIDNEY and the PAXO's

had secured a new perch on a 5-barred gate.
The rain persisted, as did we while the now regular morning

AIRBUS
cut throgh the gloom and with just a brief lull we returned to base to find no more than c6 Dung Flies and a similar number of associate other Flies in the Moth Traps.
However, Good News as reaching more northern climbes as at both Ponds the recent ice covering was now melt water which had attracted a pair of sparkling

MALLARD
to the Irrigation Pond but immediately upstaged at the
Gravel Pit

by a pair of

TEAL
and a whole lot better the c3

but not at all obliging

LITTLE GREBEs
We would have been satisfied with what we had recorded that far, especially seeing the Grebes back onboard, but arriving at the Heath there came the familiar grating calls of a

first for the year and east bound

RAVEN
which landed only briefly on the
Solar Panel Compound Fence Line.
We'll Settle For That Given the Circumstances!

Let It Be Me - The Everly Brothers

 With the temperature lingering at an unseasonable +5°C at 18:00 on Sunday, and shooting to +7°C by midnight on went a single trap. Surely a Moth was due to be caught somewhere across the county, under such favourable circumstances, and woke up singing the Everly’s classic as above and later it turned out with a single

WINTER MOTH

we await to see if we were alone in this? We had driven across a frost bitten New Forest the day before but with the pond at

no more than a

Skating Rink
we high-tailed it homeward.
However, given the circumstances of the previous night and a more

favourable looking sky the following day it seemed well worth another go.

NEW FOREST PONIES

ROYAL OAK

and a little more open water on the pond and few people so pole position at the feeding station.

First up came

NUTHATCH

closely followed by

MARSH TIT
but overall there were very few small birds.

A few more

NEW FOREST PONIES

before the only c2

MANDARIN DUCKs (male)

were coaxed out of cover on the far bank
(pair)

with a few slices of Mr Warburton's finest.
(female)

and on the way back roadside
CATTLE

along the beautiful avenue of trees.
The 'reserve' at Blashford Lakes remaines in full Lock Down so again resorting to peeking throught the hedgerow to spy on

GOOSANDER (female)

pair and

(male)
while a little close to our station a male

WIGEON

along with a female.
Kingfisher Lake at the end of Hurst Road at Ringwood has been for many years the
Winter Dwelling Place of a male

FERRUGINOUS DUCK 

a bird of Mainland Europe and Africa which was always difficult to see but even more so since the owners rigged a canvas screen around the perimetre fence. While we would guard the right of such people to errect such a thing it does seem a little churrlish to do so, but darn right illegal for those  likely porporting to be Bird Watches to cut great holes in them!
The only images we have ever secured of such a bird come from our 2006 Morocco trip so will have to surfice (males).

Apologies for the late arrival the Master at Arms has me booked to appear before the Captain at 10:30!