Spring Comes Flooding in

Thought I'd do a bit of a photo-Blog for a change. This weekend began well, fell apart with a spectacular bang on Saturday evening and then picked itself up nicely yesterday.

After the storms had crossed over on Saturday evening, it looked wonderfully spring like out there. How wrong could I have been. Popping down to the Somerset Levels to do a spot of wildlife watching, it became evident that everywhere was flooded, many roads too. So I rang a friend and we met up for a walk along the North Dorset Trailway. Until recently I spent every weekend in North Dorset so this used to be a regular walk for me. But since August and splitting up with Thelma, I'd not been back. So very nice to revisit of an old stomping ground.

But as you can see from the following photos, and video, it was a bit wet !!

On the drive to the Trailway the River Stour had burst it's banks at King's Mill

Ahhahh it's good to be back in Dorset.... even if my sartorial elegance isn't obvious. This is a repeat of a photo last June in warmer weather - see here.

Just because it was an arty shot.

In drier times, one can walk to this style and along the riverbank, a haven for Otter, Kingfisher and Banded Damoiselle

Where this tree is, is the bank. In the summer the river is usually 10 feet below here

We took a detour off the Trailway and walked to Fiddleford Mill. I'm so glad we did, otherwise we'd not have spied these snowdrops, They were a bit battered after the flood, but a welcome sign of the coming spring

Water pounding through the mill race

Another arty shot, an old door. Taken because of the colours

I was surprised there were so few birds about taking advantage of the flooding. Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and Buzzard were common, as were Fieldfare and Redwing. smattering of Great, blue and Long-Tailed Tit, and a couple of lovely male Bullfinches at Fiddleford. Dunnock, Robin and Blackbird but no waders, and apart from this Kestrel on a post in the floodwater, nothing else of note.

But the sun began to set and time to go home. The fence is where the riverbank normally is, and where the Kestrel was, on the bend.

Finally a video taken from the sluice gates at Fiddleford Mill on my camera of the flooding. Where these people are walking is the higher river bank. about a 20 foot drop to the river below. hopefully they knew what they were doing.

Finally on the way home, just to revisit old haunts, we popped up to Bulbarrow Hill. It was good to be back there, made all the more so by the 4 Ravens seen tumbling and playing the wind. I'm going to have to move down there, much too good a place to avoid. No wonder Thomas Hardy wrote such descriptive novels.... now then Tess, is that job still going as Mayor of Casterbridge?

Sunrise to Sunset

I don't usually talk about my job on the blog, but what a day! Having been party to 3 redundancy initiatives in 4 years, this last one has taken it's toll on everyone. No one has come out of this without feeling battered and mentally bruised. So as happens many times, once the management team have done their stuff, who's next. Yesterday, our boss announced she was "being asked to leave" and so the future is not bright, nor is it orange.

I'm quite excited in a way as I'll be free to do whatever I want, but sad that it's an end of an era, both for me and dear old Auntie. It had to happen, television as we know it is a dying media; content provision, the internet, multimedia, and radio are all the future now. Many of the changes are vital to the survival of dear old Auntie.

So as this is the very last time the team will all be together, we de-camped to Rucolas in Bristol's "fashionable meeja" area of Clifton for a long reflective lunch, lasting from 1.00 until 4.30pm. This restaurant provided wondrous goodies of the Mediterranean region, so what did the boy Border have? ....... Sunrise Sunset : Grilled Lincolnshire Sausages, Back Bacon, Tomato, Potato Waffles, Two Fried Free Range Eggs, Toast, Butter + Preserves. A marvelous way to celebrate!!

So after lunch, drove down to Dorset, which was planned as Thelma has her bi-monthly oncology check up today. I needed fresh air, and to be a million miles from work. So Bulbarrow Hill it was after a cup of tea, and to take in a sunset.

Not much wildlife up here last night, nice Yellowhammer, above, a few Kestels, a Buzzard and other than Hirundines, that was about it. Lovely to be up there though. However driving home at 10pm. I said to Thelma, keep a look out for Little Owls on the top of posts.... 2 miles further on at Bagber a Little Owl (149). My first of the year and Thelma's first ever "oh aren't they small she said".

What a wonderful way to end a strange day. Puts it all into perspective!! And so to the sunsets!

What you looking at?

Took about 30 around this time, this just gives a flavour

Border Reiver is on the road to nowhere!!

And it's a full moon tomorrow!

Hail and Gale an Easter Saturday Tale

Blimey O'Reilly, it was a bit blustery yesterday and absolutely freezing. Mind you as I write this at 8am Sunday, it's snowing quite heavily in Dorset.

After shopping in Yeovil in the morning, always a treat for a countryphile such as myself, plus a spot of lunch at Castle Gardens in Sherborne (amazingly re-opened 2 days after a fire destroyed 50% of the building), in the afternoon I left Thelma to snooze in the warm conservatory, and himself ventured out onto Bulbarow Hill in the teeth of a gale (with a grey wagtail at a ford on the way). And at 900 feet up it was surely a gale. Struggling to get out of the car my first view was an incoming hail shower... which was nice!!

Apart from a woman walking dogs, presumably because she had to, I seemed to be the only one stupid enough to be up there. It was glorious, as I'm addicted to severe weather. I always become depressed in the summer when it's hot and humid as just don't like hot weather. I've always been odd. Give me a cold winter's day, a gale and some wildlife, and I'm in heaven. I have to admit though, this was quite challenging, some gusts really took your breath away and twice I nearly took a tumble. The only way to use the binoculars was to wrap myself around a fencepost to stop them shaking too much. But worth it.

Huge numbers of Corvids up there, particularly Rooks and Carrion Crows. Spent a bit of time watching Rooks pestering a Buzzard which was flying a bit too close. Amazing how agile Buzzards can be when being mobbed. That was the second Buzzard being mobbed, one at Clifton Maybank near Yeovil earlier. Very few passerines about, but hunkered in the lee of a hedge Red-Legged Partridge and pheasants, numerous rabbits. Sadly though no Brown Hares - unlike me they had the sense to lie low and keep out of the wind.

However even for me, after an hour I had had enough of being buffeted, so drove to Hammoon. 600 feet lower, the weather could not have been any different. Was it the same day? Still a wind, but I could stand up. Scanning the Stour River, 2 Little Egrets were faffing about by the river.

Also today's quiz - Spot the Duck in the water meadow. Click to enlarge.

In the opposite direction to the Little Egrets, Hambleton Hill. I keep meaning to go up there, not today though.

Finally as it was heading towards sunset, popped to Fiddleford Manor. Absolutely stunning spot with the Mill, a weir and unspoilt scenery. I was watching a "charm" of Goldfinch and some Long Tailed Tit in a tree when a "seep seep" attracted my attention. And indeed, 2 Kingfishers. I watched them flying to and from a branch as I stood on the sluice gates here. Not far from this spot I also found their nest hole. In the evening light, the male particularly turned almost Azure-Purple, glorious. By the way incase you're wondering, females have an oranger lower bill, though not easy to see at times.

And last but by no means least, sunsets. Top was a wonderful cloud formation as a I left Fiddleford, and below it, sun through Common Plantation near Stalbridge, which holds a sizeable rookery, presumably as less than a mile away where most of the rooks in the garden come from. Also a good spot for Roe Deer.

March

I keep doing this, no I'm not back but I am a-posting. Just a quick note. Not much wildlife watching this weekend, but notable birds were 4 Red Legged Partridge (104) and Yellowhammer (105) up on Bullbarrow Hill Dorset. At dusk yesterday there were 9 Yellowhammers in one field, perched on posts and bushes, 2 of which were searching for "a little bit of cheese" apparently.... Blue Vinney is a good choice from Dorset.

Plus 2 cock Pheasants having a right old ding dong in the middle of the road, which if I hadn't stopped the car to watch this, may have been carnage, so intent were they on setting up home and chatting up the ladies. And this morning 3 gloriously sunlit male Bullfinches near Wincanton in one bush.

On Saturday Bullbarrow Hill was alive with wildlife, about 4 or 5 Buzzards, usual Corvids, nice large Linnet flock, and hundreds of Rabbits. At 900 feet it commands a goodly scan of the rolling chalk hills and fields 300 feet below, however I failed to locate Hares. This March I'm going to spend some time up there and on the Wiltshire Downs, spot of mammal watching for a change.

Popped back at dusk last night to maybe glimpse an owl. Sadly not, but hundreds of corvids coming into roost and a nice Sparrowhawk flying along the lane in front of me before hedgehopping over the hedge.