Pointless Babbling

EDIT:
I've kept this post on ice for 36 hours or so, wondering if it weren't best to just delete the thing.

Then I reckoned, ah whisky tango hotel...

[You may want to just hit the little button marked X...]





Lurgy is a terrible thing.

It forces you to become far too responsible, so you go to work but you don't go out birding. Necessary shopping, yes. Necessary seawatching, no.

Bah and indeed humbug.


I know shuffling about the nearer bits of the Patch is technically birding, [as is watching the Coal Tits sort through the new mix thing* I've put in one of the feeders], but it's not quite the same as lugging a scope about the place, getting soggy and cramped, let alone actually looking for and finding something. You could probably make some conclusions about the old hunting instincts here, and you wouldn't be alone.


So, what's he doing posting?


That most dreaded of things, thinking.


There are so many non-'what I saw today' posts that go through my head. The vast majority keep right on trucking straight out the other ear, and the rest tend to be edited for brevity or sanity. So only the odd paragraph makes it through here and there.

Even now, as I'm sat here actually writing a post about this stuff, I'm wondering what I ought to put in..

It's not easy.


Something that keeps coming back to me is the nature of sight. The trouble is that I can't find a way to convey my feelings on this mix of biology and philosophy in a way that conveys all I want to put over, while being in at least some way legible.

There is a line in a Lovecraft story; "Do you know that Life is Illusion?" which I often come back to as neatly summing it up. But unless your mind looks sideways at classic horror and modern biology**, you may not appreciate it.


It would be lovely if I had the skill to post a neat essay on this, as it's very relevant to birding. After all, once you know the truth, how can you trust your eyes?
Photograph everything? But as has been shown, whoever said 'the camera never lies' was a liar.


Perhaps we should accept that there are things we can't change and just [sorry] keep calm and carry on. Or as has been put more concisely [and as I'm going quote-happy] Don't Panic.

Maybe even accept [Heresy warning!] that birding is not science and stop trying to pretend that it is.


Ah, but this is another topic.



I'm going to steer away from this potential rant [and several others looming] to go completely off topic and completely on topic at the same time. How so? Well, this is a blog mostly about birds, but it is still a blog, and thus primarily an exercise in getting nonsense out of my head and into yours.***

So, dear readers, I must share something with you..   Just saw my first referendum poster! Right out that there window. Talk about moving quickly.

Yes yes, I have an unofficial 'no politics' rule.

No no, I'm not going any further on the subject - just impressed at the reaction time.



Right then...

Rather than go on about anything else, I'm going to make a confession [more good standard blog material, then]. I have been resorting to photographing flowers. [[Oh stop laughing, KW!]]
I've been trying to remember when all of these have been out at the same time [and not just in sheltered and tended gardens, either].

Cue pics:

Drowsnops

Croci

That Pink Thing

And you remember the fakebells. Well, aparently there are real ones on Patch too.
Also primroses and all the kinds of daffydowndillies going. Plus Daisies and buttercups and dandelions and many more I can't name..


I fear that soon small childyrens will know snow only as CGI...


[Isn't that cheery?]



Ah, the Wheel turns, what will tomorrow bring?

I've really got to get out more.


Be Seeing You...




[[*RSPB's interesting mix of sunflower hearts, mealworms, and suet nibbley things - it was on offer.]]
[[**Briefly; a main theme in his stories was that the world as we perceive it is not true reality. Turns out a lot of what we see is not what's there, but what our brains think is likely to be there.]]
[[***Or at least, what you think is in my head... ]]

An Actual Catchup Post

Ok, I'm far too plague-struck to write a vast epic in the style of Tolstoy, let alone Tolkein, so I'm just going to crack through these...


Starting on the first lost Friday;
Inspired by the early front, I scurried over and seawatched at the Nose. Not a lot doing; 12 GND, 2 RTD, and a nice adult YLG the best of the birds. Star sighting was the Grey Seal which hauled out on the mainland [by The Mound] - not usual!


Saturday was windy and increasingly wet. I got around the Patch and ended up at Blackball, where all 4 grebes were on display! A high count for the winter of 28 GC Grebe, plus 3 BN 2 Slav and the/a RN. I was not expecting that. Also 8 GND and a probable BTD, but only 3 C Scoter.


Sunday I had a grand day out and no mistake. Despite the overcast and sogginess, I was determined to get out somehwere at least Moor-ish. I went up to Fingle.

Turns out they've been very busy up there, among others things turning the riverside path to Clifford Bridge into a racetrack. Now, I'm all for encouraging people to enjoy the great outdoors, but trying to watch Dippers is hard enough with the regular flow of civilians, without having to keep at least half an eye out for zooming cyclepaffs. Maybe I'm being overly crotchety, but does everywhere have to be made cycle friendly? What's wrong with walking?

Ahem.

So, they've also put in a big easy way up to another of the dinky hillforts that overlook the Teign gorge. There already was a nice hardcore route [pretty much straight up the hillside..], but certainly not a Parent-friendly one. I went up the fun way, which had almost as much water coming down it as the stream it parallelled, and down the easy way, which had views and everything. Time for piccies!

Adorable ickle waterfall.

View from Wooston Castle

[guest starring new scarf, knitted by Sister!] 

 The new track, cut into the hillsi-

-ooh, look at the strata!

Three hundred million years ago, 

these were ripples on the seabed

After that, I went upstream and took the extra fun way to Hunter's Tor, then back the high way. They've been busy up there, too. I covered some ground, got a bit muddy and had a fair old time.
Scenery, rocks and birds, the day had it all.
It didn't even rain on me :D



On to the end of last month, and a weekend I stayed on Patch. Numbers were down on the previous weekend, but the C Scoters were back up to 6, and I found 11 Purple Sands at the Real Living Coast on Saturday and a 1w Med Gull at the Nose on Sunday.



February's start saw another seawatch at the Nose. Yes, the day of rain rain and more rain, with lots of wind too. I foolishly believed the forecast of a tight front in the early afternoon, followed by a wind shift and a clearing...

The wind stayed between S by E and SSW [with much gusting and more sea devils than I've ever seen in one day before] and the rain stayed too. Mostly sideways. Still, there was a slick, and while I couldn't keep a brolly of any kind up and still look at anything, I had my waterproofs and a bit of shelter at the TSWS, so I beasted it out.

3 GND and 19 GC Grebe were hiding in Hope Cove, a variety of gulls were at the slick and a fair few Fulmars [plus Kitts and Gannets] were passing. Hmm.
One of the Fulmars was a lovely Blue one. A really soft and blue-looking bird. It didn't tarry. Neither did the tatty moulting one with the dark-looking tail..
Oh well, you put the hours in.


Best thing about the day after was the 2 Nuthatches on my feeders at the same time. :)



And here we are back to last weekend! Being rather under the weather, I didn't do much more than a slow toddle each day for some air. Saturday had nowt to write home about, but Sunday I actually saw something good!

With the NNE wind, I figured Meadfoot was worth a try, and scored a variety of divers and grebes. Best by far though, was what zipped along the shoreline; Kingfisher!! Not seen one on Patch for a while now.

Also on the shoreline [a bit further east] was this beauty;

Wowzer!

This is a slab of sandstone showing textbook palaeoripples. Phonebinned from IMD, if it's still intact when I'm feeling better I'll be after a closer look. [Definitely low and falling tide only, folks..]


Also of note;

I know they're fakes, but still,

Bluebells!!

Dearie dearie me, second week of February....



Ok, th-th-th-that's all, folks!

Yes It's A Horrible Catch-up Post

NOT, I must insist, a ketchup post.



Forgive me, I have been trapped in a seemingly endless loop of monitor-bashing frustration and pent-up postiness. And I'm stricken with plague.


The good news is that I haven't actually done a huge amount in my enforced sabbatical. One trip, two proper seawatches, and a bit of Patch-bashing. Easy, right? We shall see...



Just not right now. I shall instead treat you to a piccy or two as a teaser..

[[oh, the plague has warped his mind even more..]]

Primroses on IMD

 

 

 

Snowdrops and violence, somewhere.

 

Yeah, pretty flowers... ::Gasp::

I know. I'm despicable.


I also know I ought to change this post around and retitle it, but I'm not going to. Oh, the power of editorial control.. Mua-ha-ha-ha-haaa


Ahem.

Now I really must go, the Coal Tits are insisting I give them more seed [yes, even in this weather]. And well, I don't want them going all The Birds on me, now do I?



Be Seeing You


[Oh, the joy in being able to type that.. :) ]

Pride Goeth Before A Fall

And doesn't it just?


Yes dear readers, I am back.

My technical issues were a pain in the neck to say the least and have required some reasonably drastic action. However, I am hopeful that I can now resume tormenting your eyes and melting your brains posting.


The title and contents of this here post were what was left stranded in blogger's workybitz when it decided it didn't like me any more. Ironic to say the least...


So, here it is, a very delayed post indeed.

Cast, if you will, your minds back, back, baaaaack in time to the 17th of January**;



 Pride Goeth Before A Fall

Well, sort of.


So, another Sunday and the day started very well with a Treeeecreeeeper outside the kitchen window! I like Treeeecreeeepers.


The weather was being naughty, neither really here nor there [and of course, not what was forecast..], but I said terhellwi'it! and went up on't Moor.


With things seemingly threatening to get brighter, and the wind less fierce than expected, I decided to have a look around Vitifer, in case of shrike. After a fair bit of wandering about, I got to the clearfell in Sousson's [previous year's hotspot] to find assorted birders with the same idea. They included The Boss, who had seen said shrike a couple of hours earlier. ["It was right up there" he told me].

Hmm.


Having been upvalley, I tried down valley and around to the Farm. No joy.

Hmm.

I figured it had probably gone to the little valley below the WHI [sight of my first ever GGS, btw]. Now, I could either yomp over, or, it getting on, I could stay put, have some lunch [a plan] and see if it came to me.

I went for option lunch. Within 10 minutes of sitting myself down in a nice inconspicuous [and sheltered] spot - where I very handily flushed a moderately unlucky* Woodcock! - my bet paid off as the GG Shrike came skimming low between the piles of shorn-off branches!

And then disappeared down slope.


Bugger.


Go after it or wait for it to work up to me? Down slope was less sheltered from the now somewhat increased wind, and there were now no noisy civilians to disturb it. As I was feeling very pleased with myself for predicting the shrike's return, I waited.

The cloud base then decided to drop in. Visibility tanked and it was Game Over Boys.


Drat.



Here's a better-behaved shrike in better-behaved weather from a year ago;

Great Grey Shrike, Sousson's

Then, the Crossbills showed up. Very mobile, about 25 of them, so enough for the proper sleigh bells effect, they did not stop in sight. But they were nice to have pass by.


Once lunch was done and as it was clear the mistyfog was here to stay, I mooched around both trees and Moor to see what I could find. Of note were a very unlucky Woodcock. Well, a bit of it, anyway...

Wing of Woodcock;

hand with feathers, arm somewhat barer..

Also a couple of Red Grouse, a couple of lost walkers, and some wonderfully atmospheric scenery;

Nothing like surprise drops in the fog...

 

 

Gertilicious

 

 

I do rather like the Moor when it's all mistyfog and you can't see. This wasn't quite the full-on 40' bowl - more like an 80' veil - but it still served the HotB effect pretty well. :)


Ah well, another weekend bites the dust. If work did not beckon tomorrow, I'd even be seawatching... ::Sigh::



[[*Look down...]]

Apologies

To all you dear readers, but Backward Birding is currently suffering technical issues.

I'm having to post this on a borrowed computer as Blogger has decided it doesn't want to work for me.. Bladdy Giggle and other comments.. :(


So... Backward Birding is on indefinite hiatus until this is resolved.

Sorry.

Don't Read This Post

Seriously. You will regret it.





Ok, you were warned...


So, I went for a mooch about the South Hams. First up was South Huish, where there was the chance of good views of Glossy Ibis, Ruddy Shelduck, and Water Pipit.

All three were distant and elusive. The Ibis so much so that it couldn't be seen at all!
The slail was very non-elusive. [That's sleet with added hail for extra ouchiness, btw].

With Bolt Tail and the Thurlestone

looking all atmospheric

A Barwit showed up and hung with the Oyks [who were feeding in a grassy field..], which was a bit random.

This is a Barwit

[Plus an Oyk's bum..]

A Kingfisher swayed on a reed stem at the back, and in a brief look at the sea, a 1w RTD was bobbing around. Apparently, there's a funny pale pipit in the big flock, but I didn't find that, either.


Something that amused me was the sight of workmen putting speed bumps in by the NT car park. Why so funny? Well, if you consider the craters potholes they were filling in as part of the same operation...



I then went looking for the 2 male Red Crested Pochard, who would now be in splendid plumage. Bowcombe Creek had been mentioned, but no joy was had there. Indeed, they too were very elusive to the point of invisibility.


Finally, Slapton Ley.

There was going to be a particularly long and vehement rant about the new Stokely Bay hide here. Going on about how the only thing it seems to have been designed to do is be as uncomfortable and impractical as possible.
Indeed, the only good thing is the location.

BUT. Those stupid enormous fixed side 'windows' were great when the 1w Marsh Harrier [not moulting yet, so cannot be sexed] showed up and started hunting the back of said bay. For 15 minutes until it got something. WOW!

With 6 Goldeneye and 3 BN Grebes out on the Ley, things were good indeed. Ok, there weren't many birds other than them. 2 Coot. Yes, 2!!!!

Then the Water Rails decided to have a barney right outside. [Yes, seen Water Rails very close and chasing each other]. Something in the water, maybe? Later on, one even posed for pictures!

Water Rail

Right by the ring bench at Slapton Bridge

Then....


A movement in the reeds, a disturbance in the water. Less than 20m away, there it was.. OTTER.

An adult [perhaps the/a male?], it then proceeded to fish its way out into the Bay and right across the middle of the lower Ley. In the middle of the day, in the sunshine. It was catching teeny fish [four or five crunches and gone] and, while it spent less than 5 seconds at a time on the surface, I watched it for more than 35 minutes. Just think about that. [Maybe weep...]

I've had better views, and closer views [both on the Levels], but they were always seconds, at most a minute or so. Not half an hour and then some.


I went up to Ireland Bay - where most of the [still pretty sparse] birds were hiding. 2 more Goldeneye, a few Gadwall, etc... No RCPs. There were a couple of very vocal Mistle Thrushes. So vocal, they didn't seem to be paying me [presumably the object of their rattley ire] that much mind. Thus, the following gratuitous up-skirt shot..

 Actually identifiable..!

Still time for icing;  I saw a Barn Owl on the way home.



Happy Happy Joy Joy

[For once said unironically]

Birds And Rain.

Lots of birds.

Lots of rain.


So I went off to the Exe to amuse myself in the 'sunshine and showers'.

Hmm, well there was a brief hint of what might have been approaching sunshine in the morning, and the showers were more like variations in degrees of it pissing down..

But lots of birds, oh yes.


I started at Matford, where I was hoping to get a decent [ie. under 1km] view of the Ridgway's Cackling Goose. Unfortunately, said goose had other ideas and proved elusive. I did see a lot of other birds, mostly for the first time this year [isn't that nice?], and most notably a frickin' YBW*!!

This was during the bright bit, and it was feeding busily along the little hedge past the footbridge by the thatched cottage**. It then moved into the trees by the viewing area [with the benches and Lapwing bike holders] and off towards the main pool.


Thoughts of waiting the Cackler out were banished by large amounts of water falling out of the sky. There being absolutely no shelter, I retired first to my car, then to Bowling Green.

This was a Good Idea, as a full-on hard core frontal system duly piled in, with sideways rain and everything...


Bowling Green was [like everywhere else] rather damp. Observe, regardez...

Someone left the tap on..

There were shedloads of wildfowl. As I ended up staying longer than planned, I eventually cracked and  started counting. I did not count everything, life is too short and there were too many sodding Teal.. There were too many Wigeon too, but as I was looking to refind the AmWig, I figured what the hell. Counting in 50s, I got to 2300. That's just 'in sight'...

Those dots are all ducks...

230+ Shoveler. 14 Pintail [they flew in together], 2 Pochard, 4 Tufty, 210+ Canada, 13 Greylag, 10 Avocet [they came in for the front and left after the worst of it], 2 Grey Plover, 2 Snipe, 9 Shelduck, 1 Spotshank, 2 Greenshank, and finally; 750+ Brents over towards the Exe from Dart's when I arrived and 350+ Blackwit when I left [with a lot more coming in].

Speaking of finding the AmWig..

He was feeling fairly elusive himself..

Unlike the Spotshank.

Or the Wigeon,

Many of which came in very close.

Eventually I moved on to Dart's Farm, [after finding nothing on Goosemoor. At all.], where both Brambling and Cattle Egret got away, but the Kingfisher showed very well. Loads of finches and corvids around, plus a handful of winter thrushes.



Keeping count but not chasing [::cough::] I'm now over the ton, which only took a week longer than when I was trying.


In other news, I managed to lose the nut that holds my sunflower feeder together down the drain.. Fortunately, we still have a local-ish hardware shop where I could take the lonely screw to get a nice shiny new one. Yay.

In better news, a flock of 67. Yes, 67 Goldfinches were lurking in three trees when I got in from work on Thursday.. Wowzer.




[[*Probably. Possibly. Ok, it had all the visual signs of being the Other One, but the bastard didn't call once. It did ignore my attempts at YBW and take note of my woeful HW, though possibly only to double-take then laugh its undertail coverts off...]]
[[**Apologies to all of you readers who are unfamiliar with Matford Marsh reserve.***]]
[[***It could be described as a rushy pond-come-flooded field in the angle of a large roundabout with a cycleraceway around it..]]