April Showers

...Of snow!?!!


Unseasonably cold easterlies continue and the Patch has seen a few events in the last few days. Cliff falls behind Oddicombe have continued and the sea has breached the sea wall at Livermead, causing the main road to Paignton to be closed. Alas, the main sewer also runs along there, so that's been shut off too. However, there is an emergency system to protect the northern half of the Bay from experiencing Unfortunate Consequences. Yes, you guessed it; The South West's Biggest Chumming Machine is now firing live ammo... Now, where's a nice Sab's when you want one????  :)

I could go on at this point about how our belovedly incompetent council and south west water conspired to delay the repairs that that wall has needed for, oh years.. But why waste type? As for the sad case of Petitor House [now Petitor Half] and it's soon-to-be ex-neighbours.. Well, when buying a big fancy house, I personally would take some care as to what it's built on. Median and distal alluvial fan deposits - light on massive aeolian sand, with thin conglomerates and heavy on the silt and even mud - between two big faults - so lots of nice mini faults and jointing - where the strata are dipping towards the sea? Maybe not.


Birds? Oh yes...  Got out for a meander this afternoon and a good thing I did. I actually feel a bit better, despite a working week best described as "Aaaaarrrggghh...."

No singing warblers of any kind - though the 'common' ones were making up for that - the fun was all at sea! Or by it, at any rate. Off Meadfoot - after I'd cooed over a cute Rockit on the sea wall - at least 6 Sarnies were knocking about, with two more off Haldon Pier at point blank range! They were fishing right up to where the waves were breaking on the defences - watching them diving for Sand Eels at circa 40' was such a treat! :D On the defences were at least 15 Purple Sandpipers - I think that's the highest this, er, 'winter'. In April.. They were starting to come into s/pl and so looking quite odd for here.

Better yet, as I scanned the Bay I picked up something dark asleep on the water off Torre Abbey - hmm, that's interesting-looking... Not a GC Grebe by the lack of a white bit at the front, with the wedge-looking head, maybe a female Eider?? The light wasn't great so I moved and got a better angle and it duly woke up and no, not a duck at all! [Bloody perspectives..] That's a grebe - but still very dark. Think about s/pl grebes, because while that head shape doesn't look right for GC, it could be still moulting or just evil. But no, no white bits at all; a paler cheek but not pale enough - dusky would be right - and, oh look, a nice spot of pale - the lightest part - at the bill base. Yellow. It is! It is a Red-necked Grebe!

Thus does blind stubborn persistence pay off, as finally I catch one [of the two!] in my half of the Bay. Yes!

Speaking of blind stubborn persistence... The Inner Harbour gulls numbered in excess of 85, two of them were GBBs, they had 3 Shags with them, but they were all Herrings.



Finally, in the Garden; a Goldcrest made a quick visit first thing this morning [most likely more than one have been visiting all winter, but catching them in the act is not easy], Goldfinches have been coming in in twos, and the 2 male Blackcaps were still present on Wednesday. The Sparrows are nest-building if not more in next door's eaves, but no activity in the nest boxes yet [that I've seen].


I get the impression that the Spring-y-ness is building up, mostly held back by the weather, but the metaphor of a dam thrown across a big river seems right.



We're all waiting for the flood.