Vanity, Vertebrates and a Virus

The Safari has been quite busy with wildlife and other stuff since Christmas, mostly other stuff including another operation on my already butchered hand at the end of January which curtailed safariing for most of February but is now mostly fully recovered. 

A couple of days after the stitches came out - 14 of them

With good news from the Sand Lizard project we've been working on for the best part of a decade we decided to celebrate in hip n trendy style and get ourselves a congratulatory tattoo.

In wildlife news we've been continuing or Photo Year List Challenge with Monika and the gang. This year it's open to all vertebrates and so far we've managed 132 species. This Lesser Spotted Catshark eggcase we found the other day was accepted as a 'Yes it counts' by all in the group to become our 132nd species.

No doubt you're all aware there's a bit of a health issue going round at the moment - seems akin to the Black Death of the Middle Ages - so although not entirely put on hold the Vertebrate Challenge has been replaced by a 2 Week Photo Bird Blitz taking us up to the end of the month. One simple rule - All species must be photographed within a mile of home - a good excuse to get out with the camera, get some excersise see some wildlife and maintain the all important Social Isolation. This Sparrowhawk was soaring over Base Camp yesterday.

2WBB #15

Deadly disease or not the mutt still needs a walk and Chat Alley and the beach are within our mile radius. Neither a bird nor other vertebrate we found these odd cocoons made of sand stuck to the sea defences a couple of days ago. Wonder what they'll turn into, Anyone any ideas.

This morning there was a brisk cool south easterly blowing and a few birds were about especially Meadow Pipits there were a few grounded, one doing its parachuting display flight and most going over more or less due north.

One of the local Pied Wagtails doesn't like the pipits landing on his  patch and chases them off calling noisily as he does. Great to watch the twisting and turning of the chase as the pipit tries to make an escape.

2WBB #16

We named Chat Alley as it turns up chats like Wheatears in reasonable numbers each spring and autumn and occasionally Stonechats too. So far this year we've not come across a Wheatear and today was no exception and also the mean date we first see one along here. However there were a couple of Stonechats, a species we've not recorded along the cliffs for at least a couple of years so we were very pleased to see them

2WBB #17

On closer inspection of the photos when we got back to Base Camp what we thought were two individuals now looks like the same one moving northwards along the cliffs.

The return journey gave us yet more Meadow Pipits.

And finally we stopped off at the Go-Kart track wader roost and found the Purple Sandpiper still present as it had been there yesterday too - the first time we'd looked for it in a while with all the rough weather probably meaning the birds had had to roost elsewhere.

Well that's it for now. We'll try to be more regular in our posts now we.re forced to spend much more time at home.  

Where to next? More of the mile from Base Camp we suppose
In the meantime lets us know who's reappeared in your outback

And don't forget the natural world is a great escape from the problems of today's issues and there's always something to see and new to learn right outside your door or even through your window if you can't get/aren't allowed out.

Can't beat a bit of snail racing

The Safari was hoping to be able to take a tasty looking moth or two to our summer fair on Sunday but there wasn't anything in the trap colourful enough to inspire the general populace. Best of the bunch was the first Willow Beauty of the year.

Easy to spot on the wall

A little trickier on a wooden background

The fair had a sustainability and community theme and went well, the first one we've done, thankfully the weather was glorious and that brought lots of people out.

Marine animals touch tank

Welly throwing competition - very popular

Male Sand Lizard

Juvenile Sand Lizards nearly ready to be released into the wild in North Wales as part of the captive breeding reintroduction scheme - most people didn't know we had lizards in this country never mind on the dunes only half a mile away!

About half an hour before the finish all the gulls went up with a racket and the Starlings and Pigeons too. We didn't see what made them flush but we did here the unmistakable call of a Green Sandpiper (P2 #60) a Patch 2 lifer, where it had come from is anyone's guess there's precious little habitat for one anywhere near.

The sea has been quite calm so far this week but produced little of interest other than distant Grey Seals. Mammals were also represented at Base Camp by the first Grey Squirrel we've seen there for a long time, maybe over a year!

Today we had a family group pond dipping and mini-beast safari-ing. All the usual suspects were netted. Nothing outstanding was found other than a huge load of tiny snails when the kids were looking for Garden Snails to 'race'. We think they are probably juvenile Garden Snails.

Over turning one the laths of wood we've managed to get a huge splinter of rotten wood down the underside of our finger nail and have only been able to get about 1/3 of it out. It's beginning to throb and we can feel some septic fun coming on.

Where to next? A day out with LCV on his Midlands patch - should be good.
In the meantime let us know who's got where they shouldn't in your outback.

Are dips good for your pecs?

The Safari sorted the moths out first thing. Not as big a selection as yesterday probably due to the brisk  wind. New in were the first Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwings of the year.

Common Rustics are always good value - you just never know which form you're going to get

And a male Buff Ermine was a welcome returnee - not had one for a three weeks.

Then it was in to the Black Mamba - aka Wifey's car - and we sped off over to the South-side for an appointment with an American.

It wasn't showing straight off and another birder had already been looking for it for over an hour without success so we were hopeful it wouldn't be a long vigil before it put in an appearance.

Lots of Black Tailed Godwits, Redshanks and Lapwings were on the flood with a really nice number of Snipe. It wasn't long before we had  little heart flutter but it turned in to one of three or four Dunlins we eventually found.

Two Greenshank were 'hidden' amongst the godwits but several Ruff in various stages of moult were much easier to pick out.

Ducks included a good number of Teal but no Garganeys. Gadwall and Shoveler were present in small numbers and we saw singles of both Wigeon and Pintail. A juvenile Little Grebe was getting some stick from one of its parents.

Not a bad view from your bedroom window!

 Can you see the Pectoral Sandpiper?

Couldn't find it? Neither could we :-(

The site had a bioblitz on so we popped in to the centre to have a look at what they were up to. On the walk in we were just in time to see tthem tip out this Wood Mouse from one of their overnight traps.

We came away a tad disappointed, not seen a 'Pec' for some years but dipped a few - too many!

Later in the day our Extreme Photographer came round for a chat and whilst sitting in the garden we spotted a mason wasp going in to a hole in the kitchen brickwork. Nearby he saw a Ruby Tailed Wasp which was lurking furtively. As soon as the mason wap came out of the hole the Ruby Tail went up to the hole and backed in to lay an egg - fascinating to watch! It's all happenin at Base Camp.

Our Extreme Photographer also sent us some pics from his uncle's garden. Wish we had something similar wandering around on our lawn! 

Where to next? Frank is going to the vets for his op tomorrow and we'll meet up with some friends once he's been dropped off with them and hopefully we'll see something of interest while we're with them.

In the meantime let us know what's scuttling around on your lawn.