Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters

 An away-day yesterday and little / no improvement across the Wild World has us publishing little more than a 'filler' today' as the demise gets closer!

This small Puddle in the Airport

and this Hard Standing where once the Solar Panel Construction Team had their base
were both once home to the

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER

during their all too short

Breeding Season

but the pond soon became overgrown as did the second site.

The construction of their nests was a joy to watch as they seemed to randomly toss tiny stones with their bills, over their heads forming the almost perfect cicular depression as a nest.

INCUBATING

Tiny Fluffy Juveniles

like the parent birds seemed to have no fear

and could usually be approached to within a matter of

a few feet.

Unfortunately, gone are the days

as lucky to see a single representative across any given year!

Will Ye No Come Back Again?

Time of the Season - The Zombies

 Like the readership (understandably) the bottom has / is dropping out of the Wildlife which is the way of things at this time of year. We suffered a 2,000 (yes 2,000) drop on the Hits Counter yesterday but who can complain when all we have is more of the same? Additionally, the Moth Traps are susceptible to inclement weather with the best of the bunch from last night's single trap being little more than

OAK EGGAR

LIME-SPECK PUG

DRINKER

and

DUSKY SALLOW
Otherwise, despite extensive searches the rest amounted to just the following.

HOUSE SPARROWs

benefiting from the morsels we provide on the lawn

while on the Heath, along with the other usual suspects, little more than this

ROE DEER
while at the Sewerage Works we found the return of the

JACKDAWs
along with this

BLACK SLUG
The Solar Panel Compounds faired little better with some

'self found'

PUFFBALL FUNGI
named from the brown dust-like spores emitted from the mature fruitbody,
while the Maintemance Foreman sent an image of a

TOAD
found in more or less the same place.
The 'find of the day' came while checking the Little Grebes, all still in fine fettle,

as a

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER

feeding among the surrounding Sallows.
This is only the second we have located this year with the first being seen in early spring and heard 'drumming' a couple of days later.We are hoping the seemingly downward trend does not continue! 

We have not as yet decided on a course of action but are considering a broad sweep between closing down altogether or trying to stick to a daily - which is highly unlikely until things improve.

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine - Laural and Hardy

 As unseasonably cool overnight temperatures continue and aided by rain showers, again there was little to celebrate from thee Moth Traps save a couple of Big Boys.

PINE HAWK-MOTH
have been well represented throughout despite not reaching a double figure on any given night while we cannot complain about our 4th

LOBSTER MOTH
of the season and having found an image of the

Larval Stage
among our souvenirs and as if to get all the bad news out of the way early more

Fly Tipping
this time plaster board, and otherwise fairly quiet again with juvenile

STONECHAT
providing the vocals.

COLTSFOOT
blooming right across the Heath with the occassional

tight-winged

GREYLING BUTTERFLY
along with decent numbers of considered

second generation

MEADOW PIPIT

COMMON CLEAVER
(known in Dorset as Goose Grass) was a usual find while the still a

little ragged

arrived just in time to make up the numbers and joined by one of the juv

CARRION CROWs

with the 'Find of the Day' being an all to brief
WHIMBREL
detected on song but

gone are the days, it would seem, when they would alight briefly like this.
Back to Base and to find what looked like a different

juvenile

ROBIN
and along with that the newly fledged

PIED WAGTAILs

from the traditional nest behind the farm house solar panels

were gorging thmseves on the lawn.
MANANA!