7 Jan 22

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadow, The Windmills, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Rufus Castle and the Museum

Talk about déjà vu. Today's weather was absolutely identical to yesterday's, even down to when the first spots of rain began to fall at 12:30pm.The morning, as it was yesterday, was a mixture of cloud, wind and the occasional glimpse of sunshine.

The only big difference today, was that in place of yesterday's female Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest in Pennsylvania Castle Wood, today there was a male Sparrowhawk and a Firecrest.

Other highlights were at the cove, where the Pied Wagtail and Grey Wagtail still remain, but the 6 Rock Pipits from yesterday are now 23.

Out to sea, on the Shambles, there were hundreds of gulls, auks and Gannets having a bit of a fish frenzy, whilst just a few metres off the shoreline was a Black-headed Gull and a Great Black-backed Gull.

There is always a mystery bird on my walks, this time it was a small brown bird. It was larger than a Wren, but smaller than a Rock Pipit. It flew across the cove, just a few feet above the water, before landing on the rocks on the southern end of the beach. A search with the binoculars revealed nothing. First thoughts were that it might have been a Black Redstart or a Stonechat. But nope this was a little brown job (LBJ) with no distinguishing markings whatsoever!!


Birds Recorded:
Gannet
Cormorant
1 Sparrowhawk
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Razorbill
Guillemot
Wood Pigeon
23 Rock Pipit
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Grey Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Firecrest
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

Gannets, gulls and auks fishing on the Shambles

A lot closer in was this Black-headed Gull

One of the 23 Rock Pipits here at the cove today.

They do love to pose for the camera.

Church Ope Cove with a few Rock Pipits scurrying about in amongst the stones.

And a close-up of them feeding on Kelp Flies

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:

Kelp Fly (Coelopa frigida)

Plants Recorded:

Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x Uplandicum) 

A few Russian Comfreys (Symphytum x Uplandicum) are beginning to emerge in Penns Wood. This Comfrey is a cross or hybrid of Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) and Rough Comfrey (Symphytum asperum)

General Shots:

The dark clouds to the south are bringing rain again.

The sea was a little rough today. But I have seen worse.

An empty Whelk eggs case

Ted:

Ted sporting a brand new waterproof jacket.

One things for sure..........

..........my first impression was that his jacket was a bit on the small side. Obviously not, going by these photos

Or by this video, with Ted doing one of his Bichon Buzzes. Where does he get his energy from

Ships Today:

This image is a snapshot I took at 4:00pm today, showing a good twenty or so ships in Lyme Bay. The one circled is "JSP Rover". Whether it's down to the weather, I'm unsure, but it looks very much like they are all holding up here. All the ships I photographed below are in this image.

This is the Portuguese Container Ship "JSP Rover" on its way from Rotterdam to Cork. More on this vessel Here.

This is the Panamanian Vehicles Carrier "Grand Dahlia" on its way from Bremerhaven (Denmark) to Barcelona (Spain). More on this vessel Here.

This is the Panamanian Vehicles Carrier "Grand Aurora" on its way from Southampton to Manzanillo(Panama). More on this vessel Here.

This is the British General Cargo Ship "Vitality" on its way from Rotterdam to Santander (Spain). More on this vessel Here.

This is the Liberian Container Ship "CSAV Trancura" on its way from Rotterdam to the Suez Canal. More on this vessel Here.