All good practice

Bagged very little, even less and buggerall, in roughly that order, at various levels locales,... and then I trod on a bleedin' Pheasant.



Another never to be forgotten day to go down in Gwent birding lore. Gotta love the SD702's pre-roll buffer though, I didn't press record until the bird had all but disappeared, sweet (or at least it will be, when the next bird to leap up at my feet and tear off is a Great Snipe).

Something worth doing

It is going to rain all weekend, so do something useful, avoid a few minutes of the usual shite weekend telly, click here and give your MP a kick in the right direction re the Climate Change Bill. It will take five minutes but the smug feeling of self-satisfaction will last for hours.

Puffin

Found this whilst going through some pics from a trip to Varanger, etc. Presumably the bird is using the nicotine as an appetite suppressant to get it through another season of collapsing fish stocks.

GOSh! How entertaining

Bagged a few Siskins this morning and a Merlin this afternoon, but you don't wanna hear about that, so I'll move swiftly onto the real entertainment,... The GOS AGM. Oh! How much fun can you have in an evening? For those that didn't attend, basically, the AGM consisted of about 100 non-birders (interspersed with a smattering of people who actually go birding) arguing over bird names (yes, that's right, the argument we had throughout the rest of the UK about 15 years ago). It was hilarious and, by the end of proceedings, the camp that started the evening not having heard of the BOU, having no grasp of taxonomy and who wouldn't know a Common Redpoll if it landed on their 50 year old bins, had won the day. You can now look forward to the next report containing such gems as 'Jenny Wren (Winter Wren)', 'Oooh, that difficult brown one (Cetti's Warbler)' and 'Big Seagull (Larus sp.)'.

Perhaps GOS should make up their minds, are their publications for people who are ignorant of all things relating to birds/birding or are they aimed at a slightly more ornithologically educated readership? If the former, perhaps a name change is in order (perhaps drop the 'O') or perhaps a new Gwent Bird Club is needed to cater for people that are actually birders?

Dead dog dip

I can't believe it, got up early, arrived before dawn, scoured the reservoir and still left empty-handed. Not so much as a sniff. Checked the GOS sightings page at lunchtime and there it was, in black and white - dead dog seen bobbing about in the northern end, aaaargh! That is two dips in three days at Llareggub, JT-FC! I imagine this is how it looked...



The only saving grace was having PJ Harvey's most recent offering massaging the ear-lobes on the way thither and hither. The title track is b-e-a-utiful, right up there, with Grandaddy's "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot", vying for the coveted title of 'The best indie folk-laden rock tune in the world EVER!'

PS. Fudge Duck? What Fudge Duck?

Damp squib

Went looking for the reported possible first for the county, after fighting through the assembled ranks of expectant Gwent birders, who, in round figures, numbered precisely zero, I spent a couple of hours ensconced in the shelter belt getting rained/hailed on. The shitty conditions didn't help, nor did the fact that I could only see 3-4 Lesser Redpolls, might try again tomorrow; Common Redpoll must be the single biggest glaring hole in the county list. During my private cardueline caper I received news of a Slav at Llandegfedd. By the time I got there, it wasn't. The only grebe in the Green Pool inlet was a greasy starting to show the first signs of summer plum and looked like this...

On the levels

A little tour of the levels started at Saltmarsh lane and ended at Collister Pill. In between we bagged, in roughly chronological order: 3+ Brambling, 1 Water Pipit, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Golden Plover and 2 Rock Pipit.

Farmfield finches

Still about half a dozen Brambling in the finch flock down Farmfield Lane, not an awful lot else though. The girlfriend had a couple of Woodcock at Forest Drive this evening along with two off-roading arseholes pulling doughnuts and generally carving up the top of Twmbarlwm,... I'm thinking of getting me one of these...



Apparently the Javelin is a portable anti-tank 'fire-and-forget' missile, designed for use in the hectic lifestyle of the modern anti-tank man, with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance.

The warhead is fitted with two shaped charges: a ‘starter’ to initiate explosive reactive armour and a ‘main’ to penetrate base armour (unfortunately there is no ‘desert’). The propulsion system is a two-stage solid propellant design which provides a minimum smoke soft launch, this complies with all EU legislation on smoking in confined spaces and ensures no contraventions of the Health Act 2006 will occur if you choose to launch it from the bar of your local pub.

The system is deployed and ready to fire in less than 30 seconds and reload time is less than 20 seconds. The gunner engages the target by placing a cursor box over the image of the target, just like Battalion Wars II on the Nintendo Wii. Unlike conventional wire guided, fibre-optic cable guided, or laser beam riding missiles, Javelin is autonomously guided to the target after launch, leaving the gunner free to reposition, reload or redo his hair immediately after launch.

The weapon has two attack modes: direct attack mode to engage covered targets, bunkers, buildings and helicopters; and top attack mode for tanks and wankers in 4x4s, in which case the Javelin climbs above and strikes down on the target to penetrate the roof where there is the least armour protection.

If it’s good enough for the 16 air assault and three commando it’s good enough for me.

Pom tiddly pom pom

An hour and a half at Goldcliff Point produced (eventually) with a Pom flying overhead and then up-channel into the estuary to kick seven shades of shite out of the Common Gulls; and a Purp flying past in the opposite direction presumably off to roost with the accompanying Dunlin. No Dunlin roost at the pools, a lone Greenshank being the only wader of note. Lots of Black-tailed Godwits at Boat Lane though (including a colour-ringed bird) but the real quality was provided by the wildfowl - Black Swan and Bar-headed Goose!

SEO and the ghost of Bob

What do you do whilst waiting for SEOs to appear at Aust Warth? Why re-enact an iconic image in the life of the mighty Robert Zimmerman, that's what.
What you will need: a copy of Barry Feinstein's pic of the aforementioned Bob from 11th May 1966 (see www.barryfeinsteinphotography.com/photography.htm) and a few willing accomplices.
What to do: find the old Aust Ferry slipway; step through the gaping hole in the fence; briefly admire the Banksy-esque graffiti on the remains of the building on your right (is this an original Banksy?); place two of your accomplices in the approximate positions of Howard Alk and the 1960s vintage limo in the pic (unless of course you have Howard Alk and a 1960s limo to hand); place yourself on the spot once occupied by, arguably, America's foremost singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet, and, of late, disc jockey; and get someone to take a photo; and then hang around and bag an SEO just before dark. It really is that simple.



Thanks go to my dog for playing the role of Mr Alk, Sarah for a passable impersonation of an old limo and my girlfriend for her photography skills.