Three of the Best - Our Finest Hours + One

 While we don't so much as even utter the 'C' word let alone celibrate it the vast majority certainly do so no quarms about wishing our Valued Readership the Best of the Season and Enjoyment all round! Maybe you would consider a perfect Stocking Filler for all of your Families and Friends to be the Link to our Modest Daily Doings as again we wander back in time! While still residing in Weymouth it wasn't unusual to dine (hic) with friends who lived on the same road and vice versa. On the occassion of 18:05:2002 the subject turned to a Great Reed Warbler which for some time been resident at

FRENSHAM POND in SURREY
Informing my hosts that I had never seen such a thing in Great Britain he announced that he would drive me there the very next day. Rare birds can be notorious for keeping a low profile but not this little beauty which could be heard singing from the car park, easily located and keeping up the vocals for our entire stay. TICK!! Back to my usual rounds the following day arriving at Radipole Lake a 'double take' had to be made as surely that could not have been another singing - but it was!!

GREAT REED WARBLER

© Martin Cade as the only known image taken of that bird? Don't tell me lightning doesn't strike twice!! Some years later, 15:05:2000 to be precise, and having been dubbed by some as the Bus Pass Birder, having come of age, and already done the business at Ferrybridge and then continuing to Portland Bill  where at the Pulpit Inn there was a strage twittering above my head which, with a little thought was considered to be a

FAN-TAILED WARBLER

being familiar with from foreign visits, so immediately phoned Martin Cade, then Assistant Warden of the Portland Bird Observatory, who despatched his right-hand man Richard Bull? to join me at the Pulpit. By this time Martin had heard it for himself and put out the news nationally, attracting a huge crowd, as only the 3rd ever recorded for Great Britain!

The last of the trio should have been my Finest Hour but in part found to have the Gilt Taken from the Gingerbread on the 27:08:2010 and again at Ferrybridge an unfamiliar small Wading Bird hove into view among the kelp flummoxing me from the start. Not wishing to put foot in mouth before giving it some grilling and with NO experience of such a creature it was decided to report the news by 'text' to 15 fellow Birders as a 'PUTATIVE'

RED-NECKED STINT
only the 7th for Great Britain which was roundly accepted

on production of these

self-taken images DUNLIN in background for comparison.

                        Changing the subject completely and to bring a little drama to the Post

January 1986 has gone down in the weather archives as a particularly angry month, with gale force wind and heavy rain recorded on many days, not least Tuesday 28th. I hadn't long finished my evening meal when there came a knock on the door from one of the Naval Base drivers with a request from the Queen's Harbour Master for me to return to duty, which I did with the driver. On the way he briefed me that a Libyan freighter, broken down mid-channel (English Channel), had sent a Mayday message with little more information than that. The harbour tug Sheepdog was deployed to effect a rescue, in conditions that were not ideal, but on arrival found we had a major problem with language barrier.

Usually in situations such as these it would be agreed with the Salvers (us) and the Master of the stricken vessel that he would, when circumstance allowed, sign a 'Lloyd's Open Salvage Agreement', transferring the responsibility of his ship to us the rescue vessel on the understanding that 'no cure would result in no pay'. As this type of arrangement is conducted 'over the air', anyone tuned to that frequency would hear the agreement so there is never a doubt over detail. What we did know was that the vessel was named the

Ebn Magid, registered in Tripoli, Libya but what was in doubt was what cargo she was carrying, most important as there were already signs of a fire onboard from heat sensors. Fortunately, a towing hawser was connected and the return to Portland Harbour was undertaken without incident and on arrival every necessary service awaited the ship, her crew and ourselves.

By 09-00 light wisps of white smoke were already seeping from her number 4 hold and while the Fire Brigade (appliances from 3 counties) searched for 'hot spot', using tug support, it became clear that she had animal feed stowed in her lower holds, this was over-stowed with boxed cans of engine oil which in turn were supporting a number of brand new Honda motorcars. Any upper-deck space was filled by 'containers' each full of canned Cow & Gate babies milk while on top of each there was again a brand new Honda car. At this point it was decided to 'ground' her in the shallows of the western margins of the harbour with the images being self explanatory!

Rounding the Outer coaling Pier

Tug Rollicker (left) and Sheepdog

Cow and Gate Milk Tins spewing from the hold and containers

and not so much as a broken fingernail between us!!

Mostly in Black 'n' White

 It's almost half way through the morning before there is enough daylight to view the Wildlife properly

but we can wait

particularlywhen there are so many

ROOKs

around to attract our attention.
Heading for the banks of the River Stour we noted what is surely the same

KINGFISHER
of previous days on the Golf Course and none to shabby views of a passing

LITTLE EGRET

from bank-side while the 'highlight' of the day, as

passing the OAK which seems reluctant to shed its leaves, on the way to the
Sewerage Works

where was found last years???? or (less likely) another

Albino
BLACK-HEADED GULL

Something of a hold-up at the end of the lane but once cleared
a rounds of the Southern Reaches

where there was little more than a few

ROBINs

and this candidate which won't be
"Gathering any Nuts in May"!

Don't Miss Tomorrow's Post!!

The Snide Sniper

 Deciding to do the 'rounds' in revers order again it was noted that the

Main Pond 

has something of a vaneer across the surface? while at the manor car park the previously lone

FIELDFARE
was still gorging itself but today joined by a couple of

ROBINs

single
GREENFINCH

and a trio of
HOUSE SPARROWs

We rarely get the opportunity to 'click' any of the neighbouring aircraft on the ground

but with no traffic we took the chance and moments later

it was airborne.

COLLARED DOVE
as heading up north and while scanning the track leading to the

Solar Panel Compound

this very smart looking but seemingly unaware
FOX.

Only this lone

DUNNOCK
at the Sewerage Works and still no Black Redstart but instead a couple of

ROE DEER
and back at Base Camp it was noted that the

LIME TREE
is already in bud!

COASTGUARD RESCUE
while mid-afternoon a small bird was seen, through the blind and found to be a

COMMON SNIPE

right on our doorstep and not a species we have ever seen here before.

In our haste to 'click' this minor miracle we raised the screen, flushed the bird and dragged these images from the archive for illustration.

Ol' Man River - Paul Robeson

 With the

Waning Moon 

now coming close to its end with hopes that the darker heavens combined with the still unseasonably high temperatures might just coax a few more Moths into the Traps - seems they did......

c6
DECEMBER MOTHs

plus singles each of
MOTTLED UMBER

and

WINTER MOTH

with a couple of

DOR BEETLEs (right)

with at least one showing attendant 'parasites',

and the 'horned' individual left being a

MINOTAUR BEETLE

(Thanks John)
All else in the Solar Panel Compound was more evidence of overnight

BADGER

feeding (grubbing) activity

and an unusual quartet of female

PHEASANTs

either preening or feeding.

Back, closer to home, one of the local

KESTRELs

in 'hunting mode' at altitude

but nowhere near as high as this passing
BRITISH AIRWAYs
rumoured to be coming to an airport near us next year????

Finally, a wander down to bank-side where Wildlife was found to be completely absent

but pleasing to see the
RIVER STOUR
almost in full flood.