Normal Service will resume soon

Apologies once again for a lack of blogging, far too busy reading other blogs, attempting to identify moths, giving lectures, working, monitoring my ageing body and annoying tufts of aural hair, plus chasing insects! The above picture was from a few weeks ago, sleep induced!

King Eider on the Ythan

Star wort so I believe

Dainty Damsel

Once I get my act backing together I'll resume normal service including the Sunday edition minus phone hacking or any other way of finding whats about!

Work on Monday as usual!

Cheque books back in pockets, the Brown Booby is a Gannet.

First birders arrive on St Mary's for the Booby...No ladder required

As has been seen this week the top listers are having a bonanza at the moment, this time the ladders can be pushed aside and the cheque book birders out in force. The first arrivals at the dump on St mary's Scilly for the Brown Booby
Good luck lads remember your sleeping bags (great Blue Heron could strike again)

It's not my real ladder?

It's my step Ladder !!
It's been a funny old week, stuck at work all week,a good bird 270 miles North and evidently one that provoked much discussion amongst birders and non- birders.
White throated Robin at Hartlepool was always going to attract a big crowd and many were certainly not disappointed going by the photos and video.
Back home I had to make do with a local Toucan that was in a nearby garden only viewable over the fence with a ladder. This made me think about obscure moments in my somewhat sporadic ( recent years) twitching times.

I remember attempting to see a Corncrake on Scilly in 1985 which was only viewable through a tight angle into a field and surrounded other hopeful birders I decided that as a result of short stature I'd be able to see the bird by sticking my head between the bars of the gate and twisting my head and bins to the side to look along the furrows. This was fine until a bright spark started to open the gate with my head still stuck in it!

Secondly whilst running for the Northern Oriole on St Agnes, Scilly I managed to come face to face and was almost run over by a tractor, possibly the only vehicle on the island with a very irate farmer!

This was nothing though compared to the birder that I saw run over in Hugh Town running for the ferry for the Hermit Thrush. As he bounced off the bonnet of the old ladies car she seemed somewhat bemused that he simply got up, and limped off towards the quay!

Twitching is a funny old game and yes we're all a bit nutty but we enjoy it and as a result I've made loads of great friends and had some great days out in the field. The Golden winged Warbler twitch was a day to remember especially when the double decker bus blocked several hundred birders views...........simple solution, driver turned his engine off as the bus couldn't proceed along the road and lots of birders climbed aboard to get more height to view the gardens. Another surreal moment of a birder swimming across to another island on Scilly to look for a Rough leg, or Pete Milford getting caught by the tide in Norfolk and swimming back to shore with his bins tied to the top of his head.

It's a peculiar pastime but so are many others whether it's driving several hundred miles to see a concert, a a moth in a fridge, a racing event or even a field where a caravan is pitched down and you wake up to the smell of bacon all around and toilet tent zips!!

It's whatever you enjoy

Must remember to add ladder to my Xmas list !

The story of the Old Bin Lady and the Dainty Damsels

Long long ago, on a far away island named Sheppey, lived One man and his blog http://lettersfromsheppey.blogspot.com/ but not so Far Far away another bridge was built over to the Island of Sheppey which alleviated the summer and bank holiday traffic problems caused by any boat taller than a canoe and the ceremonial lifting of the bridge. Such isolation from the mainland brought with it a rich variety of habitats and a flourishing set of pools situated next to the new bridge which could now be available to that new breed of birder, the damsel hunters!

John and Gill Brook made the discovery of the decade when a little known species of Damselfly, Coenagrion scitulum was rediscovered in the UK following the loss of the species from Essex in the 1950's associated with the floods http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/dainty-damselfly

Saturday morning found me and a few other Odonata followers attempting to track down this enigmatic species and in so doing we were amongst a small but growing group able to once again witness this cracking but 'subtle' species in the UK. Two males were found and another different male (based on abdominal markings on the Sunday). Hopefully the two photos show many of the 'key' features for this species but I will certainly return to hopefully see more. This was my 45th UK species of Odonata and with two still in Scotland and another in Ireland, the magic 50 is getting nearer.
Size wise they really do live up to their name, and the markings on Segment 2 of the abdomen plus the 'long' pale pterostigma give them a slightly different appearance to puella.

Yesterday evening, there was a shout from the garden from the missus 'what's this moth in the bin' ...................!

It's the Old Lady, or as in this case the BIN LADY. First one I've seen this year and another great addition to a fantastic weekend of insects. I spent Saturday with Lou down at Hamstreet with Steve Whitehouse and friends seeing loads of moths, probably 30 new species for me, including the wanted Scarce Merveille de Jour, Red necked Footman, Rannoch Looper (part of a large influx), Lobster, Pale Tussock, Ingrailed and Purple Clay, Pine Hawk Moth, and loads more, cracking stuff!

I also saw a few birds this weekend including this Little Tern....

IRANIA good luck to all

Twenty years ago today. Bridled bliss

Twenty years ago today, I heard about a sum plum White winged Black Tern at West Thurrock, Essex and being a bit short of cash, time and generally being tight I decided to attempt to see if I could see the bird from Greenhithe, Kent ! In attempting this long distance spotting across Old Father Thames I bumped into Paul Larkin who I informed that maybe we should try our luck out at Swanscombe, I knew the security guards and access was granted to the riverfront.

On arrival the White winger was showing incredibly well just offshore from the jetty at Swanscombe and sadly in those pre digital days I didn't have a camera at hand, but I did have a rather large and heavy mobile phone!

Just as I was on the phone to Andrew Moon at Birdline South East I noted with Paul another tern coming towards us just offshore, dark above, pale below. I knew it was either a Bridled or Sooty but which one?

a phone call to Andrew solved any ID problems followed by several expletives!! The bird fed just offshore from us for a while, the mobile was hot with calls from others in Essex that could see us watching the bird!

BRIDLED TERN, a real mega then it was off upriver towards the Dartford Bridge and lost to view. Later on I found out that several birders connected with it, a second for Kent, first for LNHS and it was later at Hanningfield, Essex.

A memorable day and I still remember Paul's parting words.....................see you in BB

Sure enough our names did appear in the BB report for that year

Happy days !

Up to date : Wedding, Moths, birds and Dragons!

Ok then it's nearing the middle of the year, it's a Bank Holiday it's dull outside, Louise is up North having seen Take That in Sunderland, I've got a bit of spare time and in order to prevent Mr Faulkner abandoning me forever I've decided to post. When I first started this blog a few years ago I used to spend huge amounts of time updating it, but I rarely seem to find the time to update now though do enjoying reading many blogs especially the Thanet based ones, Sheppey and my second favourite county in Britain, those from Devon.

To re cap the last few months then, I'll take you back to Dengemarsh and Springfield Bridge where Phil Saunders and Josh Jenkins Shaw started off a mini twitch with the Odonata Elite of the UK (well Dragonfly twitchers really)!

Vagrant Emperor was the target and very smart it was too looking rare as in vagrant but without a vagrants bottles of whiskey! This really is a Dragonfly meag and was widely tipped as about to set wing on UK soil as a result of huge numbers recently seen across other parts of Europe. On arrival on Bank holiday Monday all was looking pretty grim as the quarry failed to show in the slightly cooler temperature compared to the day before but luck was on our side when a timely phone call from Terrington Laws found JT and myself rushing back to Dengemarsh from the ARC and there it was winging it's way up and down the Pike ditch, a corking Vagrant Emperor yet another Odonata UK lifer. It wont be long now before someone achieves a full 50 species for the UK if the Dainties show this year and a few other new UK species turn up.

The small crowd above shows Phil Heath and Steve Whitehouse just before they left the site to twitch a local fridge for a few new Moth ticks !!

The Vagrant..........MEGA

Another trip to Dunge found JT and myself dipping on Crane and a Collared Prat, but once again the birding Gods were on our side when Steve Broyd then Mike B found two Red rumped Swallows on the RSPB reserve which gave good views for the next hour or so amongst the Swifts and other hirundines. Dunge really is having a cracking spring, and with Roseate Tern, Hobby, Little Gull and BTD made the day a great success despite the no show Prat!

April 28th 2011, the day I thought would never come and my childhood statement of 'I'll never get married' was broken!

Anyway it was a cracking day, everything went like clockwork thanks to our families and other guests, and especially to the staff of Leeds Castle who were simply superb. Now me being me, you wouldn't expect to attend even my own wedding without my bins and this paid off with a cracking pair of Spot Shanks and LRPs on the main lake, plus Peregrine, Med Gulls and stacks of hirundines. I never knew weddings could be so much fun and bird filled!! Our honeymoon was to be based in Devon at Crowdy Mill, Harbertonford with Tawny Owl outside and Dipper on the river viewed from the window.

Ok, the wedding went without a hitch but the car rebelled at Budleigh and we were towed to Exeter to exchange for a courtesy car called Kirsty ( a honeymoon with two girls) !! The steering rack had gone on the car and lots of money later we were reunited with our car. Anyway, our dog Forrest (not the little one in the picture above, that's a local) enjoyed being in a people carrier for a few days.

I had to take a photo of this, if you've watched Little Britain you'll know what I'm talking about.

Despite all my attempts I never did manage to see Ring Ousel on Dartmoor but I did find this photo om my memory card, that someone found very funny indeed!! Cheers Wifey!

No trip to Devon is complete without seeing Cirl Bunt, will we ever all see one on Kentish soil again?

Back home, another sighting of Red Kite, they are becoming extremely regular in Kent these days and reminds me of my first at Dunge in Dec in the early 1980's when it was still very rare in Kent.

The mothing continues this year with my first ever spring and it really has been both taxing on ,my ageing brain and great fun with loads of new lifers, just like when I first started birding way back in 1978. Above is White Satin

The Snout, a really great looking moth with a nose to be proud of.

Small Magpie

Big Magpie

Corn Bunting at Cliffe
Finally I will attempt to keep things up to date, (you've heard that one before) It's now 1pm, I'm hungry and I need to get the mansion ready again for the Take That wanderers arrival later today.