Taking What I Could Get

The plague did not go away.

To be fair, I was coughing so much I'd have had trouble holding a scope steady for any length of time.

So, no seawatching bonanza for me on Friday, stuck inside looking forlornly out at the weather passing by...

Bugger.

Saturday and my cold was a lot better [but of course]. I had made plans [I'd started improving the previous evening, even more of course] to give the Nose a thorough seeing-to and then go Ouzel-hunting.

But, upon awakening into - yes, a slightly stronger wind than I'd have liked - the new day at a good early hour, I realised The Mouse Factor applied.

 

Yup, my head struck again.

This was a good one, and lasted right into the next day, only finally getting bored early Sunday afternoon.

I was prepared.

I'd been prepared for more than 30 hours.

I boiled the water, packed the very late lunch, and hit the road.

Blackening Waxcap

Shamelessly using a pretty fungus as the thumbnail.

I went to Vitifer, in search of the double-figures of Ring Ouzels reported in the area. And because I likes the place.

Looking towards Birch Tor

A lot of berrylicious Hawthorns around.

It was, as I worked down the valley, quite remarkably birdless. A few LTTs in the upper works, a few scattered small Mipit bands, usual overhead corvids, Buzzard onna bush... Thrushes? Not even a Blackbird.

Eventually I found one of the latter, and I got to the area SE of Birch Tor where more than 20 Ouzels had been reported the day before [and I believe 11 that morning?].

Spot the Ouzels

I wouldn't try too hard, you won't find any. [Ok, there might be one in there I missed at the time; I did have a female in flight, possibly with a male nearby, but nothing was showing.]

Well, that's a day full of mundanes for you.

 

I considered trying the next valley over [no, not Headland Warren, I'd come in that way and very thrush-less], but figured that being right below a busy pub, people would have been down there, too...

Ok, one option left. Keep going.

Sousson's had Crossbills, flying about in groups of up to 12, and a few got in the way of the camera.

Count the Crossbills

Flying!

I worked down until I was at the bottom of Challacombe Down, where I finally, finally, found where the black and white buggers were hiding; the fields of Sousson's Farm [no, not by the footpath, the more easterly bit you can't get at]. Four in flight, vanishing behind a hedge, then one into a tree, then finally, 7 heading off down the West Walkham in a very definite "We're off to roost, ha ha stupid monkey" kind of way.....

Nice view

Sousson's Farm on the right, West Walkham valley heading away centre left [Vitifer Brook joins it in low ground down there, WW comes down from Headland Warren Farm, valley mouth on left.

If you see the line of dark shelter belt trees, with a cottage in the middle, the Ouzels were flying right to left in front of them, lit wonderfully by the low sun, and 3 adult males were among them as I followed with my li'l scope. Previously, Ouzels had been active in the neat green hedged paddocks [Hawthorns in said hedges, rather berry-depleted now] closer and right of said tree belt.

I did get a picture of a couple of Red Deer, casually grazing in a field down valley

Like big brown sheep

Much closer to, I had some company;

Sheeeeeep!

This was very nearly the thumbnail, but then I looked at the title I'm using, and, well....

Ahem.

"Got any sammiches?"

Blackening Waxcap.

Larger, older one than up there

False Chanterelle

Milking Bonnet

Also of interest,

Look, up in the sky

Lovely coronal effect, there

I took a rather roundabout route on my way home, in the hope of something interesting, though the only records of note were a couple more Red Deer and heard-onlys of Golden Plover [several, but not a big flock] and Mallard! 

While the Ring Ouzels could have been showier, it was good to be out, and any Ouzels are better than no Ouzels  :D

Here's hoping to a little more time next weekend, but at least [like it said up there] I made the most of what I had.

Be Seeing You...

Insert Witty Title Here

Ok, so, last week I was coming down with the lurgy, but determined to do something while I could get out, I dragged myself over to the Nose on Monday afternoon [yes, on Nights again] and gave it as good a battering as I could in the circumstances.

Yeah...

The bushes were - as you might expect, especially in the pm - pretty dead, with a couple of Chiffs [but you have to look]. The only passing sealife was waaay out, though I counted at least 58 Kittiwake and a couple of Arctic Skuas annoying them [a light morph adult is easy at quite some range, though without the Kitts as handy scalers, I'd have had to be cautious and call them sp.].

On the Lead Stone, a fair number of Oyks were roosting, and rather than tell you, why not try counting them for yourself [Hint: there are more than you think]

Oyks on Lead

But the main source of fun was up above, passing the right way this time. Moving along the clifftop, they bunched - pausing to feed at a classic spot for it - and then moved in pulses, usually the mid- double figures.

If we go back to that first shot, I'll zoom in a bit;

Hirundines!

Zooming in more

Now from IMD

Hitting one that came low

enough for any

detail wasn't easy

Swallows, House and Sand Martins.

Very hard to properly count numbers, as they weren't making it easy, but easily in the hundreds and probably the thousands. It gave the feeling of a passage that'd been going on all day, though it wasn't the full-on continual stream that you get in truly epic situations; most likely birds using the lee of the cliffs instead of moving on a wider front.

On my way out, this less than happy chap was on top of the bins [?]

Speckled Bush-cricket

He looked quite a lot how I felt, but hey, maybe it'd clear up in a day or three and I'd be ready for what the forecast promised on Friday?

Oh stop laughing.

Be Seeing You...

 

 

 

[Though not for a while yet, still infectious]

Getting Up On The Roof

First up, a Public Service Announcement;

 

The Dreaded Lurgy strikes again and I am a most unhappy [and snotty] birder.

[Aren't you happy to know that?]

But I haven't let that stop me [at least before I got too contagious].

It was a merely sore throat on Sunday when I took a wander up on t'Moor with The Folks and The Stealer Of Hats.

It was all sunny and warm and far more like July than October, but hey that's warming for you...

We went where we'd gone before in said Summer, when it was overcast and the wind was howling and we didn't get that far [before relocating to the Teign for shelter and Dippers].

This time, well, we did rather better.

Bit of a view

Getting up Rowtor, we found a far friskier wind than forecast [and that's allowing for Moor Rule*], but in a shock move, we pressed on up to West Mill Tor.

As an aside, I am a big fan of people new to the Moor starting this way; park at the big parking bit, go up Rowtor [it's right there], then when you get up and are feeling a bit happy, you see West Mill Tor rearing up in front of you like a granite wall. Oh. ok. So you go over, get up it... And then there's Yes Tor and the Wilhay doing the same thing beyond that...    o:)

[And if they get up to the top of Yes Tor and see the view, well, they know that a) they've really earned it and b) they can probably get up anywhere else.  :D ]

That photo up there is from our lunch spot on said WMT, looking Easterly, with the Belstone and Cosdon ridges stretching across the view.

Also on WMT,

On the way up,

Wheatear!

And another!

They were in the clitter you can see in the first photo, but made themselves very scarce as we had another visitor pass by. I even got her in a photo [Just. Honest.], and here is same, with scenery, and The Folks themselves watching her pass!

Spot the Sprawk!

Well past, and angling up the slope by the time the camera was out, on, and shooting.. But she [a nice adult] is in there. Really.

Also on the wildlife front;

If you can't find a flower, a jumper will do

Heather Beetle,

having survived a

dip in the dog's water!

Lots of Rove Beetles about

Hawthorn Shieldbug

Mipits and Skylarks [especially the former] present in numbers and banding up, other wise pretty quiet aside from a suprise late and distant good-sized group of Golden Plover [pre-roost collection, I figure, this was about 1700]; 40+. Seen wheeling about towards Cosdon and lost to sight under the horizon.

Also of note, a sustained and day-long southerly passage of large butterflies - almost all Red Admiral, though the odd Small Tort, Peacock, and Comma in with them - with a rate of at least 50 an hour and seemingly occurring over a wide front.

We pressed on in the afternoon and despite the hordes [and being distracted by His Majesty's Finest playing "Contact!" near Rowtor, with many a smoke grenade used

Can you spot the small unit action?

Contact himself, motivating the

proper use of cover.

followed by a very thorough debrief, and a policing of brass. All good stuff!]

  we got ourselves up to High Wilhays.

Up on the roof

there's a fair view.

Haldon Belvedere

Also noticed this,

BRENT

carved into Wilhay's

southern outcrop

Enjoying the scenery is all well and good for hoomans, but 'orrible dogs tend to get ideas [at least, once all the food's gone] when nothing seems to be happening...

Marleybones with

purloined headgear

Every pog has their little eccentricities, and pinching hats right off your head is one of his [along with slobbering you right in the face.....].

Let's have some more scenery

From WMT's west slope, on

the way back.

Whilst fruitlessly looking

for the Goldies, something

else appeared.

It was a lovely day - the weather helped, the unseasonably warm wind not least - and we all had a time.

I haven't fogotten the Patch, by the way, and you shall see that in the next 'exciting' [Legally-mandated apostrophes there] installment of 

Baaaaaaaackwaaaaaard Biiiiiirdiiiiing!!!

[Oh dear]

Be Seeing You...

[[* Wind always at least one and usually two points higher on the Beaufort Scale than the forecast says. ]]

Forster's Tern For Imaginary Twitchers

Cartoon beats band by a narrow margin.

As you may have gathered, I found some energy from somewhere and finally got myself to Arne in search of a Certain Yankee Tern.

Did I see it? Hmmm.....

Looks better as a thumbnail

 

Effective digiscoping with my camera isn't easy, but that didn't stop me trying.

Out for a walk

with a Sarnie

Oh dear.

Who says there's no

post on Sunday?

I really ought to apologise...

Who needs a scope?

Hard to get this sort

of shot through one

 

 

Dangerously arty there, best get back to what it says on the tin.

That nape..

Looked markedly different with angle and pose of the bird. Pretty much white in flight, grey shawl [like Little Gull] or a dark crescent when stood put. Grey saddle was slightly blueish; very like BHG, rather than grey grey of Sarnie. Notable was the call, which was markedly different to any other tern call you're likely to hear hereabouts [vaguely reminded me of Whitethroat].

Not the only things of interest, and while zoomby Kingfishers evaded the camera, not everything was so lucky;

Bad pic of two

immature Spoonbills

Worse one of

an Osprey

And that was the best-showing of three.

[No eagles, though.....]

Slightly better-behaved,

Sika Deer

Common Darter

Dark queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee

Platycheirus granditarsus

Parasol

Earthball

Lunchtime view, looking

for eagles. Hmm, what's that over

there, then?

Don't go near the

Corfe Castle

Very atmospheric with the mistyness and so on.

Arne is a lovely place, with an actual proper designed by someone who knows what a hide is for double-decker hide, though also a modern designed by an architect who knows only fashion flush*, too.

You know what hides look like, here's a bit of the latter [look away, those of a sensitive disposition]

Too close, too open, 

and just, well, too....

Now, in the spirit of fairness and giving-a-chance, put that on the coast and it'd be a half-decent thing for seawatching. [Though I suspect it'd get pointed into the prevailing wind...]

Not at all all bad, though,

There are many nice places to sit, here's one of them.

I was going to make a political joke,

but that would be insulting a

very nice pig.

They are free-roaming about the place, utterly unbothered by humans or their pogs.

I rather approve.

Things got even better on the trip home, as while I didn't get a roadside Corn Bunting, I did get a very close Marsh Harrier near Wareham, and inside Devon's Glorious borders, an actual Little Owl!!!!

Not seen one from the car for an age and a half, and it's brilliant to know they're not quite as scarce as I'd feared.

[No, I'm not saying where. What goes around comes around ;P ]

While an English eagle would have been joyful icing, it was still a real result of a day, and just what I needed.

[I hope]

We shall, of course,

Be Seeing You...

[[* As in, the opposite of a hide; you go in and everything flushes....]]