Turtle Dove? 4th time lucky!!!

Late, whose late?    

Yep, only came back late yesterday from 3 nights in Nice for 6 of us, including Sarah our daughter and her husband Julian, and Michael our son with his partner Sharon. A new resort for us, and best described as a tad on the pricey side.  

We had a cracking 3 bed apartment, some brilliant food, a trip to Monaco, including the city tour, following the route of the Formula 1 circuit, plus a visit to the Casino (Lost in case you wanted to know!!)

Now, where was I?  Well actually in the Juan Fangio bronze memorial statue!

To the subject in hand……

Following on an earlier post on my blog, I’m pleased to see that the Scottish Osprey chicks have arrived at Poole Harbour as part of the new translocation project.

The project started in mid-July and the overall plan is scheduled for 5 years.  The chicks are currently in enclosed pens in the Poole harbour area, and the plan is to let them out when the project team are happy that they are strong enough to fly. At that point, they will get to know the local area as part of the bonding process, so that when they return from Senegal, which will not be until 2019, they will recognise what they think is their natal birthplace.

PS: Since coming home I see in the weekend papers that some of the chicks are already on the wing.  A brilliant omen for another great birding project.

Tuesday 15^th August   

noun

plural noun: twitchers

1.      1.

a person or thing that twitches.

2.      2.

BRITISH informal

a birdwatcher whose main aim is to collect sightings of rare birds.

…………………………………… and that’s what Google has as the 2 definitions of Twitcher. No 1 only applies to me on exceptional occasions, but I think I have to accept that just sometimes, I do qualify under 2.  It rather comes down to what is a Rare bird. 

Ed: You’re trying to find a loophole, aren’t you?

Yep, I’ll confess, but it is only because I am on such a high as the result of visiting Frampton Marsh last Tuesday (15th).

The weather forecast was good so as my birding colleagues were involved elsewhere, and Mary was i/c at the church luncheon club, I did a Billy No-mates trip with my home-made salad to Frampton Marsh.  With a couple of journey shortcuts up my sleeve and the schools now well on holiday, I nipped round Nottingham, avoided Grantham and enjoyed a good journey to Frampton. 

The busy car park was the first sign of some serious birding going on, so I duly gathered my accoutrements and headed for the 360 hide. Whilst it was busy with scopes, bins and cameras, I managed to find a small slot facing north on the left side and was just absolutely gob-smacked by the huge number of small waders. There were Ringed Plovers and Dunlin EVERYWHERE, and the early sighting of a Merlin going through caused such a panic that the air was full of waders. Just a wonderful and memorable sight. You can’t photo that (video perhaps), because you don’t know where to look…. but I’ll remember that experience for a while.

Black Tailed Godwits were also present in huge numbers plus 4 Spoonbills and 4 Turnstones, but one bird on my hit list was right in front of a window, a Wood Sandpiper. That was nice, because last time I came looking for that species, the RSPB staff started strimming, so the timid bird not surprisingly hopped it! But not today.

I fell to talking to a couple of birders who were down for the day from the Bestwood Area of Notts, and we found we had quite a lot of people in common from Carsington and Derbyshire. (I mentioned coincidences last week!) When I told them that this was the 4^th time I had been to Frampton to see the Turtle Dove, they told me exactly where to look from the main car park. “It’s along the hedge, look from the concreted parking space, up and behind the Woodpigeon on the post”. It bl***y was!

So that moves me on to 197 and with 4 ½ months to go, a piece of cake.

Sorry I said that before, but whilst I was having my lunch at Frampton a couple shared my picnic table. They told me they were on the way home to Halifax, having been cycling, birding and camping in Norfolk. Monday was their wedding anniversary, and the birthday for the lady. So they had bought a nice picnic lunch with a special anniversary item which they shared with me………………………………… a Piece of Cake!   (M&S Coffee cream… superrrrb)

As for birds in Nice? Only Woodpigeons, Collared Doves, a few Gulls, and House Sparrows and Swallows, but plenty of screaming Swifts, racing in between the many tall buildings in the narrow streets where we dined. Oh well, win some lose some.

Happy Birding.