Twice To The Nose

The working week bookended by Monday afternoon and Friday morning trips to the Nose. Marked differences in weather and birds, perhaps unsurprisingly..!

 

 

Monday was an affair of lots of looking for nowt on land, but a surprise at sea as of all things a Curlew flew north. Quite high up for a wader and at a nasty angle, too. Curlews [and to a lesser extent Whimbrel] can look very like a first cycle Herring Gull when seen from an angle that hides bill and white back, as this one was, and it was only the utter lack of gliding, plus the 'off' look to it [far too brown in the wings for a late April gull, there] that made me go 'hold on...' and watch it until it did show off that white wedge.

 

I'd been hoping for Whimbrel lurking on the Lead Stone - a bunch having been seen that morning - or Whitethroat or, well all osrts of things. I did find my first Wall of the year, and have an awful head-on photo to prove it, too. However, events have required me to spare you the 'spot the butterfly' [it's a bugger too]. Better Wall pictures will be forthcoming in my next post, so just pretend you've seen one here. [Or if you're looking back at this, scroll up and look there. :) ]

 

 

 

Friday I was there straight from work, not even having breakfast and slightly seething at all the wonderful things found midweek when I couldn't get at them....

Needless to say, of assorted Patch Yearticks seen by other people, only Whitethroats were visible and here's a couple;

"Laaaa!!"

Females far less visible

 

Not that they aren't lovely, far from it. Though now seeing the one or two breeding pairs just hanging on against the Magpies makes me hearken back to the Good Old Days, when you'd get 8 or 9 times as many and the air was alive with their display flights... 

 

Ahem. Also seen were a couple of Wheatears and a singing Willow Warbler. Actual variation came offshore, with two 2cy Med Gulls flying past north. They looked quite funky with their pretty good hoods and black outer primaries.. :)

It was both very cold, due to clear skies, and dark, due to cloud [the weather really had it in for me...]. Unlike the far better conditions in days earlier.

Ho hum, life's a female dog and so on...

 

Brighter sides include;

Early Purple Orchid

There used to be several dozen of these but this year I've found two. I suspect it's more of an "Oh look, a pretty flower" ::PICK:: issue than tcct's mowing 'policy'.*  

 

 

Kidney Vetch

 

Variation

 

Horseshoe Vetch

 

Portland Spurge

 

 

 

 I'm keeping on keeping on. More of this to come in my next thrilling installment, I'm sure you can't wait.

[I probably ought to rewrite this when feeling cheerier....]

Be Seeing You...

[Smile]

 

 

 

 

[[* Which seems to be aimed at turning the Nose into a mixed Bracken and Bramble biculture... Still better than the St. Marychurch bypass, where three spp. - protected from the public by said road - have been mown extinct...]]