Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix

 With the overnight temperature hanging on to a balmy +8°C for a while now we have added yet another new moth species to the Annual Moth List by way of:-

DOTTED BORDER

backed up by something of a noticable influx of the more common creatures on the wing.

Garden Birds 

HOUSE SPARROWs

prospecting the Nest Boxes but no signs of nesting material carrying quite yet while others
further north at the Sewerage Works was found a small increase in

CHIFFCHAFF

with some having been vocal for a while with presumed new arrival

LONG-TAILED TITs

remain mute but surely it will not be long? while a second male

TUFTED DUCK
has joined the relatively longish-stayer at the Gravel Pit as another lone

RED KITE
cut across that air-space which was certainly not the previous one as all
'secondary feathers' were in place and in tact which just left the Moors River to draw a blank,
on birds but a single

OLD ENGLISH WHITE
at the western extremities of the Heath,

where last but by no means least, a small but uncounted number of just about vocal

SISKINs,
again First for the Year!
There's Always Tomorrow Cus Here Comes the Sun!

All Our Yesterdays - Part II

 Across these mostly lacklustre days we will add a little padding with a few of the sparkling birds of

ECUADOR

to compliment yesterday's Post. Alighting the bus at Machala we fell straight into the arms of

Britsh Ex-Pats Richard and Deirdre and later son Thomas who invited me to their home opening their garden to me, wined me and dined me and gave me shelter through a couple of nights. Most, but not all of the Birds were found in or around that garden.

CRIMSON-RUMPED TOUCANET

TOUCAN BARBET

GOLDEN TANAGER

TRANSPARENT BUTTERFLY

VELVET-PURPLE CORONET
while on a morning visit to the coast

SURFBIRDs

a young
WAVED ALBATROSS

swarms of the superb

INCA TERNs
and lastly before returning to the homestead a

TRICOLOURED HERON
and back at base

RUFOUS MOTMOT
and

INCA JAY
Such Happenings and Kindnesses take some pulling away from!!

All Our Yesterday's Part One

 Something of a watered down epitstle compared to the likes of the Madagascar Triolgy but a few things that caught the eye when grappling through the archive for inspiration! The 2 week organised Birds / Wildlife trip to

VENEZUELA

in 2009 proved to be one of the best yet, although our adventures were usually solo the highlights being the finding of only the second known nest site in that regeon of the amazing

DUSKY STARFRONTLET

and given the distrbution map, Venezuela not even on there, for

FORSTERS TERN
a very rare bird for the country

in general.
A long way to go for just 2 weeks and with still 3 weeks before returning to the Buchan Alpha Oil Rig a spur of the moment decission was made to extend the tour and in the first instance flying to Quito

ECUADOR
and then on no more than yet another whim caught a bus to sea-side town of Salinas for a short stay and fell immediately into the company of

BENITO HAAS
ex-Dutch pat, Wildlife enthusiast and owner of a Whale Museum, yes a Whale Museum.
En-route to his establishment the mile after mile of

SALTPANS
after which the town is named followed by

HUMPBACKED WHALE

MELLON-HEADED WHALE

SMALL WHALE SCULLs

another
HUMPBACKED WHALE

PYGMY KILLER WHALE
to show but a few, but it was the following morning when the real 'excitement' broke as between us we spotted a large, all while Gull

which with a few 'half decent' images

we concluded was a

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL

which was accepted by the Powers that Be and the First and Only Gull
of the kind for the country!
With the weather being as it is we may have to post a Part II to this magical adventure tomorrow, but we shall see?

ISLA de la PLATA
"it ain't half hot mum"!!

 It would seem for reasons beyond our control that todays Post has defected to 3 Posts down, a little 'scrolling' we feel!

Ferry Cross the Mersey - Gerry and the Pacemakers

 As if having the Strange Rover confined to the Sick Bay we did borrrow our landlords far more upmarket Rover but even then things could have been a lot, lot better.

Additionally, the weather didn't help but cleared by mid-morning by which time we had recorded the 'croaking, of what has become something of a daily passage of this

GREYLAG GOOSE
while we also had the array of Spring blooms

CROCUS
and

SNOWDROPs
but it really come to something when we have to pad things out with a visit to the

FIREWOOD

LOGGING STATION

but unfortunately no paint for you to watch drying!

One of last years Mute Swans did hove into view

with the other also present but reluctant to show itself.
Just a single Moment of Magic as from the south end a single

SKYLARK

was a most welcome addition to the
Year List

and yet another
REED BUNTING
and rumour has it that the

SANDBANKS FERRY
which plys a route across the entrance to
POOLE HARBOUR
being so suseptable to breakdowns just remains lashed to a tug at all times?? Thanks John.