Wednesday 1 June 2011

Marsh Warbler

Lade - cool, dry, sunny, warmer later, sw2-3 - The first Small Elephant Hawk-moth of the year in the trap last night (who says moths are brown and boring...)
Dengemarsh - The Lord of Hookers strikes again, this time a Marsh Warbler (first one for ages) singing from cover near the ramp at, well, of all places - Hookers!! The said rarity was typically reluctant to show itself (fleeting views being the order of the day), but as it was only a drab old Acro it didnt really matter. The song was great however, with the usual mix of Reed and Sedge Warbler notes interspersed with Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Great Tit and a bit of Cetti`s. Whilst hanging around hoping for a show (with the Joker in full flow for entertainment) the Cranes put in an appearance, the Bittern `boomed`, Beardies `pinged`, a Med Gull went over calling and 6 Hobbies circled on high hawking insects. On Dengemarsh also had distant views of the recently arrived Great White Egret. So, all in all not a bad little session. First Painted Lady of the spring on the back track as well.




Two Cranes, Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Great White Egret and a Painted Lady, Dengemarsh

ps: Is it just me, or has BBC Springwatch got even worse this year? I tried watching last night, I mean after all, credit where it`s due, they had kicked Pensthorpe Pk, Norfolk into touch (a bird reserve attached to a zoo) and moved base camp to a cracking location on the Welsh coast at the RSPB`s Ynys-hir reserve. What could go wrong I asked myself? Should be good, what with breeding Goosander, Tripit, Whinchat, Wood Warbler, Redstart and Pied Flit on site, plus a nearby supporting cast of Kites and Choughs. Surely no time for any inane banter... And while they did show one or two clips of these and others the hour long show consisted of who amongst the presenters could be the most juvenile. She harped on and on and on about some badger sett that may or may not have had any animals in it, and then went on to talk over a wildlife cameraman (someone sensible) about the challenges of filming tree-top herons. In the end every time she giggled her way onto the screen I pressed the mute button. And then there was him!! It must be contagious, he never used to be like that, banging on about punk rock and the like, and having some stupid competition with a lady from the Midlands who`d spent a lifetime studying Adders. Incidentally, she was superb and should`ve been the star of the show, but no, she couldn't get a word in edge ways. After that I crumbled and turned off in disgust. I thought the BBC had hit dumbing down rock bottom with Kingdom Country, but no, from what I saw last night they`ve surpassed even that drivel. Let`s hope they never show up at Dungeness...
Phew, that`s better, off to have a lie down now ...

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