November Bits and Bobs

About 4000 Black-headed Gulls today, a big influx. Can you spot the adult Mediterranean Gull in this pic?

Also been a bit of influx of Pied Wagtails- 30+ on site. This individual is a first winter- note the contrast between the outer greyish fringed greater coverts and the inner white fringed feathers. 

This birds looks like an alba (White Wagtail), especially considering the greater coverts appearing uniform white-fringed, suggesting an adult.  Maybe the outer most greater covert is fringed grey. Also looks like the black goes well up the rump and also the grey around the wing bend on the breast sides is extensive, despite the limited grey on the flanks. Yarrellii/alba are known to inter-breed over a relatively wide area and autumn birds and young birds are particularly difficult. Presumably all the ones here are variants of yarrellii.   

The extent of grey on the flanks is much more extensive on this individual. 

Frankie showed me this today by opening up a Teasle- not sure of the species yet. Ok Frankie's come in with four possible ids for these Endothenia marginana, E, gentianaena or Blastobasis adustella or B.lacticolella

Syrphus sp. One of the last remaining hoverflies around.

Very few insects visible at the moment especially in the cool windy conditions. We found this ichneumon sheltering in some emerging Winter Cress.

There's been a bit of habitat management over the last few weeks including the ploughing and sowing of a strip along the Southern Lake

The alternating water levels have inadvertently created some nice marshy areas which have been attracting Jack Snipe. The mix of inadvertent re-wilding and planned habitat management (and failed plans) certainly creates plenty of surprises and unpredictable opportunities at the farmlands.

The Southern Mound has been mowed in certain areas with others areas left ruderal to generate a mix of short grass, various stage ruderal, ploughed areas and newly planted scrub. Another success for the bird group in influencing the management regime.

Following our winter work of clearing willow around the lakes, some of the areas of stacked brushwood have rooted and re-sprouted. The felled willow (stumps) have also come back stronger than before. One of the areas that we didn't have success was influencing the decision to remove stumps and chip willow brush. They only make it worse it for themselves by not listening to the locals :-) 

Black Ice

Phil Ball (left, one of the Arctic 30) and Greenpeace friends 

Went to a Greenpeace event last night in Dorking for the screening of the film Black Ice. A guy called Phil Ball, one of the 'Arctic 30' was there talking about his personal experiences as one of the 30 crew members of the Arctic Sunrise that were charged for 'Piracy' by the Russians and spent 3 months in a Russian prison before being given amnesty by Putin.

It was a very interesting evening indeed. 

Stonechats etc

 Seemed to be quite a few Stonechats on the Mounds today. Got some photos of the males to check if they were different birds or the same ones moving around on feeding circuits. The bottom bird here looks like it has broader tertial fringes than the others two male pics but the patchy white on the sub-moustacial area and the white speckling on the supercilium in the other two male pics suggests it could be the same male in different areas. However the paler tips on the greater coverts on the pic 2 bird suggests it is different. Ageing first-winter males is on greater covert moult contrasts, uniformity of outer greater coverts, alula and primary coverts and extent of black on head. The bottom bird looks more like a first-winter male to me as less black and definition to the head pattern. I would say 6-7 birds today. 

 Female Stonechat

 Goldfinches- 90+ Goldfinches, 80+ Linnet, 10 Chaffinch, 9 Reed Bunting, 10+ Meadow Pipit, 4 Skylark, 2 Song Thrush and 2 Lesser Redpoll all on the eastern flank of the mound today

 700+ Woodpigeon moved through this morning. Also 100+ Fieldfare, 10+ Redpoll, 5 Siskin and 3 Redwing.

 Lesser Redpoll- feeding on Mugwort with the mixed finch flock. The ruderal areas on the mound, especially the east side are proving extremely productive. Re-wilding at it's best, with natural re-generation from the existing seed bank of teasles, mustards, mellilots and mugwort providing a very rich seed supply. 

 A 'Caspian Gull' at the back of the lake

The enclosed beds and eastern flank of the mound today. 30+ Snipe and 3 Water Pipit on the enclosed bed today. Also 2 Jack Snipe and another Water Pipit on the Southern Lake. Good numbers of ducks on the lakes and also 100 acre. 

Do not keep calm and carry On

 

Jennifer Lawrence at the Hunger Games, Mockingjay 2 Premiere tonight 

The Mockingjay

The London Million Mask March 2015

Met Josh Jones tonight to hand over some copies of the Azores Rare Bird Report as Josh is doing a talk about the Azores for the Norfolk Bird Group. Decided to meet in the Crypt (a nice little relatively well kept secret cafe)  at St.Martin's in the Field church at Trafalgar Square so that I could check out the Anonymous Million Mask March event, a group of activists calling for revolution against the establishment and corporate greed. Coincidentally about a mile away Josh had walked into the premiere for The Hunger Games Mockingjay 2 which was going on at Leicester Square- a blockbuster  movie about revolution. 

There seemed to be some connecting to do between the movie romantic fantasy of violent revolution, the irony of a glamorous Hollywood premier about a film about revolution against a ruling elite, the reality of the not so glamorous 'revolutionaries'  gathered about a mile away, the stark horrific squalor of real life violent revolution, an admiration and respect for people that are trying to do something no matter how misguided, incomplete or partial, a despair about apathy and the malignant cult of mass submission to celebrity led near-complete psychotic hypocrisy, the complete mess and madness of the London super-consciousness and the need for somehow somewhere to get to a real situation of real peaceful glamorous revolution that aims to protect nature and society by challenging the dictatorship of a fundamental capitalist elite to arrive at a fairer, greener, more beautiful, happier reality. 

The greatest act of revolution I witnessed tonight was the hand over of those bird reports, all part of an epic plan!   

Remember, remember..

5th November- it's Guy Fawkes Night, international rebels remembrance day.

Here's a rebel song from THEE BRYANS

A few bits

 Caspian-type Gull. A sub-adult, Advanced third or 4th winter type bird. A lot of black in the primaries and restricted pale tongues on inner webs- not classic features. Black extends to a band on p5. Structurally the bird looked relatively short legged and also the eye was pale. Overall a mix of characteristics with some features contra to a 'classic' bird. 

 Mandarin- a very rare local bird

Anonymous March London 5th November

This keeps getting bigger.

Voted by Times magazine in 2012 as being one of the 100 most influential 'people' in the world. That influence is growing.

The Guy Fawkes masks have become an international symbol of the campaign for People and the Planet and the resistance against centralised corruption. Somewhat uniquely the movement/organisation is organic and decentralised, governed predominately by a shared ideology.

Needless to say corrupt elements of the old school media and central government organisations exert great amount of energy into trying to discredit the movement and limit the publicity they provide for it. Also needless to the say an over-simplified ideology is a real threat to the important centralised apparatus that support society and the environment.

All just needs to fight it's way out, one way or another. Interesting times.

Anonymous on Wikipedia