Rapid transport cuts off the Safari

The Safari only got out for the dark early morning session. The sea was still rough(ish) and a similar number of Common Scoters to recent days were bobbing about. On the beach we counted 29 Redshanks and didn’t count the very small number of Oystercatchers; no Sanderlings at all today and only a few gulls.

Little did we know that that was going to be it for the rest of the day. During the morning we had noticed one of the new trams running up and down the track on the far side of the road being trialled and tested with allsorts of gizmos hanging out of the windows on wires suggesting they were downloading data to an on-board PC.

Lunchtime came and we picked up the scope to go out but found our way over the road blocked by fencing...the tram testing had for some reason necessitated the closing of our access to the sea wall...so no birding was possible.

Dean mentioned he was making a list of all the plants still in flower over this coming winter so we had a quick shuffy in the garden here and found Gorse, Perennial Cornflower, Sow Thistle and a Dandelion.

We also found a few pics on the internal memory of the camera from earlier in the summer which you mightn’t have seen before; even if you have they might brighten up an otherwise dull day so you’re gettin em anyway if only to pad this post out...

Gloomy enough today to make the pics look as though they are b/w but they aren't...we were gloomy though faced with hundreds of yards of safety fencing in both directions.

And from the lost archives of the inner workings of the camera...a Campion moth caterpillar, complete with White camion seedhead, minus seeds...now we wonder where they went...

 Deptford Pink...wonder where that came from...and if it'll ever reappear...

Gorse, crappy attempt at a flower...try again tomorrow, or the day after or the day after that, Gorse always has a flower somewhere! Today a pair of Dunnocks were noted sneaking into a particularly dense patch to roost in the thorny safety.

A lurid green caterpillar from the summer dug up whilst weeding - moth or sawfly anyone? So OK why does it have to be this bright if it lives underground or did we dig it up as it was digging down to pupate...in which case which of the plants in the garden are this green to warrant that colour as camouflage?

 Shaded Broad Bar? Nope, Dean tells us it's Yellow Shell, thanks D  :-)

White Tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus lucorum or terrestris?)

Where to next? Weekend!!! Not sure about tomorrow but we have a bit of a further flung family safari planned for Sunday...may include beer rather than wildlife though.

In the meantime let us know what's transported you to the ends of your outback today.