Days like this don't come along often

The Safari turned up at work this morning in mild sunshine to see that a Poppy had flowered on the edge of the rough path near the car-park.

It reminded us what day it was today and we thought about how absolutely terrified we'd have been had we been there hearing the machine gun bullets rattlinng off the door of the landing craft that was about to be lowered and let us out and them in...we're a sensitive soul and not the bravest of folks at the best of times.

Our next door neighbour was there, he died a few weeks ago with a piece of shrapnel still lodged in his back. Richard was taught to drive by being shown how to reverse an army truck into a certain sized space - a few short weeks later he was reversing his trucks side by side onto one of those landing craft and was ready to drive them off at the other end of the journey.

Today we salute his many fallen comrades who did what they had to to end a tyranny and give us the freedoms we now take for granted.

Patch 2 was dire, a cold but calmer empty sea, there was nothing out there apart from a couple of Common Terns from the colony in the docks round the corner down the river.

A lengthy morning had us wishing to get out again, if only for some fresh air. The time came and out we went. It was no better, we scanned this way and that seeing nothing but a few gulls on the beach and a couple resting on the gentle waves behind the almost non-existant surf. About to give up we scanned one more time and thought we saw a dark shape, perhaps the fin of a Harbour Porpoise, then we saw it again - not a porpoise but a Bottle Nosed Dolphin!!! Game on, and then there was another, smaller - a fairly well grown calf perhaps. The next half hour was pure and unadulterated joy with breaches, headstands, tail-slaps. In the end we counted at least five and maybe as many as seven. They stuck around long enough for a friend to drive down and join us and we also got a passing family on to them - to the usual 'What??? Dolphins you don't get them round here do you?'

A Grey Seal was completed upstaged by the other mammals and birds were eventually represented by a flock of 10 Shelducks and tow flocks of about 15 Common Scoters each.

Unfortunately all the action was far too far out for any hope of  photos.

Our afternoon at work wouldn't go fast enough either as we had a mission to complete - a bit of a treat for helping out at an event recently.

The appointed hour came and we made our way to the zoo where we were taken to feed the Giraffes - what fantastic creatures, we've always had a soft spot for them ever since Daktari and Animal Magic (if your under 45/50 you'll have to use that new fangled google thingy). we don't know what it is about them, is it the bizarre patterns that are actually fantastic camouflage in their natural habitat, where we'd love to see them one day, or the bizarre gait that makes them look like their moving in slow motion but can easily out run a horse, maybe it's the blue prehensile tongue or perhaps just their calm enigmatic face? whatever it is they sure are wonderful animals and we were privileged to be able to feed them...Brambles and Nettles!!!

Thanks to our host LS for taking all the pics.

After all the excitement we stopped off on the way back to Base Camp and went to search for the lcal Bee Orchids.

It didn't take long to find the first of what would eventually be 16

What a quality day...and then we were told Wifey had some great news too! Time to crack open the Champers!

Where to next? No moth trapping tonight, rain forecast but we might find something somewhere tomorrow.

In the meantime let us know who's browsing on the browse in your outback

Short n sweet today

The Safari had a short Patch 2 watch today in somewhat wintery conditions, cold wet and windy! not many birds about but was a bit weird...a Common Scoter (wintery), a Red Throated Diver (wintery, a Gannet (summery) and a Fulmar (P2 #59) (don't see many of these at all and it wasn't really that windy!).

Here's a few from the weekend

Snail Killing Fly

Probably Berberis Sawfly

A Barkfly - miniscule

Halictus ridibundus - female

Epinotia bilunana - new for garden

Tachysola acroxantha - new for garden

A cold and wet session pond dipping and mini-beast safari-ing with the Brownies didn't produce much of any excitement - indeed didn't produce much at all, too cold!
Where to next? More from Patch 2 tomorrow and a nice surprise on the way back to Base Camp.
In the meantime let us how many seasons were in your outback today.

PS those pesky bees are drinking over 100ml of golden syrup a DAY!!!

National Garden Bioblitz 2014

The Safari had an interesting weekend pottering around in the garden at Base Camp doing a bit of recording of all the natural wildlife we could find for this year’s National Garden Bioblitz.

We participated in the event last year but couldn’t recall how many species we found; we uploaded them to the website but rather remissly didn’t write them all down in our notebook, so we set ourselves a, perhaps slightly low, target of 75 species. It was suggested we might cheat if we got to 99 by counting Frank on the mammal list – we didn’t need to in the end.

There was also something else of interest going on at the same time and related to the fun and games but we can’t tell you about it just yet, it’s all a hush-hush mystery for you to ponder.

Moths were trapped, the pond was netted, bushes tapped, plants are nice and easy cos they don’t move round – much – the birds were a bit iffy as we were wandering up and down in the garden into areas we seldom visit – it’s a jungle up there - and that seems to have prevented some of the regular ones coming in and finding their way onto our list, Wifey’s pots and tubs were lifted and even the old pooter had an outing.

The moth trap was a little disappointing due to the weather overnight, it was too clear and the temperature had dropped, the previous night was more productive.

As the morning warmed up invertebrates started to move around particularly the local bees who have discovered our invertebrate feeder in a big way! Maybe too big a way cos they’re spending too much time slurping Golden Syrup and not doing the pollinating job they’ve evolved to do – actually they haven’t evolved to pollinate it’s a by-product of their foraging they do that the sneaky plants have evolved to take advantage of.

Tally sheets were filled up and it didn’t take too long to pass our target of 75 species, particularly as we had over 30 species of ‘weeds’, sorry - wildflowers, growing in and around the place.

The warm afternoon had us flagging a bit, well we’d been on the go since early doors, but that didn’t stop us having a couple of last flails with the shrubs broom handle over a white tray to see what dropped in...worth it too, we gained our first and only Common Earwig and a few tiny insects barely visible with our naked eye.

In the end we entered 130+ species on to the website after several had to be posted on iSpot for and identification – where would we be without those clever iSpotters, many thanks to them for all their help over the years. Some where instantly queried...like Wood Mouse, Early Bumble Bee and Meadow Buttercup, are they really that hard...

Would you believe it? In that 114 verified species there wasn’t a single Ladybird and a couple of aquatic species we found easily in the pond last year never came to light – surely they must still be in there somewhere.

What was most interesting in the pond was when we were looking for any of the Frogs we disturbed something but didn’t get a good look at that swam very sinuously and as it banked over the planting ledge to dive to depths it showed a flash of orange...ohhhhhhh was that a newt...we thought so and grabbed the net and did some serious swishing but to no avail. 

You might get some pics tomorrow

Where to next? Patch 2 better produce something, sure it will as we have a Brownie group causing mayhem on the beach in the evening.

In the meantime let us know who's causing the ID blips in your outback.

Bees n stuff

The Safari was a bit disappointed to see fewer Gannets doing less on Patch 2 this morning. Little else about and no sign of the dodgy gull.

By lunchtime the tide was in and we were out again on the wall to see three widely dispersed Grey Seals. The same Gannets were still about and doing even less.

A walk down the corridor had us spot a cold bumble bee lurking close to the windows in the Gorse bushes.

Another sighting along the corridor was made by a colleague who pointed us in the direction of our first Cinnabar moth of the year which was sitting on the inside of the window frame.

Back at Base Camp the bee theme continued when we saw another Tree Bee drinking honey, which we've learned we should have been giving them golden syrup or sugar water is better although  it's not strictly for the bees exclusive use.

Minutes later another bee of an unknown species was on the sugar water soaked sponge lapping up the calories. Can anyone tell us what it is from its face?

It was only little so possibly Bombus pratorum???

Where to next? The garden bioblitz starts tomorrow so the mothy is out.

In the meantime let us know who's on the sweet stuff in your outback

More from Patch 1

The Safari had a great morning on Patch 2 watching about 30 or so Gannets diving for fish. Not much with them, where are the terns? Close in, only a couple of hundred yards behinds the very gentle surf they were diving very shallowly but further out they were plunge diving from way high.

Eight Shelducks went past but little else was happening.

At lunch time most of them had dispersed leaving three Grey Seals in their wake - nice but not cetaceans.

A fascinating Herring Gull was milling around with the other gulls. In all respects it was normal apart from the primaries on its left wing...they were Glaucous or Iceland Gull-like pure white giving it a weird asymmetry. In flight coming directly towards us it look strangely lob-sided. Sadly it was far too far off for a photo but we'll be keeping an eye out for it tomorrow.

While were waiting for for a crack at that gull here's some more pics from Patch 1 the other day

Bird's Foot Trefoil

Common Blue butterfly

Same one

Common Vetch

Perforated Elm leaf

Another one

Mating Water Measurers in the pond

More of the little so n sos

Mouse Eared Hawkweed - not seen this species here before

Parasitised Yellow Dung Fly

Frog in pond at Base Camp

Back to the Common Blue butterfly

Tenthredo sp

Same one

Wolf Spider with egg sac

Where to next? Think we'll be looking for a certain wonky gull and we've got another visit to the 'snake-pit' on the way back to Base Camp after work.

In the meantime let us know who's got the wonky colouration in your outback.

Back in the saddle

The Safari has been busy getting back to work but seeing very little on Patch 2.

A quick whizz round the almost forgotten Patch 1 after family duties the other day gave us our first local damselflies of the year.

Male Azure Damselfly

Female Azure Damselfly

Lots of other stuff too which has been photographed but not yet processed apart from this fuzzy Parasitic Wasp of Lordy only knows what species.

Should have the rest of them ready for your delectation later in the week.

Another brief sortie down the motorway to what is becoming one of our fave reserves gave us the following.

Bee mimicing hoverfly Leucozoma lucorum

Male Common Blue Damselfly

Early Purlpe Orchid

Giant Horsetail

Interlocking Beech and Oak trees

Large Red Damselfly

Redshank

Redshank again

Ringed Plover

Snipe Fly

Swifts in the rain

 Where to next? Gotta be something on Patch 2 sooner rather than later.
|In the meantime let us know what weird and wonderful wildlife has been furtively lurking in your outback.

Don't forget to have a go at the Garden Bioblitz 2014 this weekend - we certainly are.

Back in the digital land of wireless gadgets

The Safari isn't sure if we're glad to be back in the 21st Century or not yet. It has its compensations but it does have a lot missing  - the garden here is almost silent compared with the constant birdsong of the last week.

Here's a bit of video from the stealth-cam, not sure what all that mist m'larky is at the end.

Surely the mist would be cool and not picked up by the infra-red or does it just pick up the temperature difference even if it's colder?

Where to next? More pics to show you from sunny Shropshire.

In the meantime let us know what who's been pottering around on your lawn