To the coast for easter

Seeing as how I have to stay up late in the hope that TFL will update their system so I can sort out my lost oyster card before going into work tommorrow, thought I might as well update my blog :)


I managed to get away for a couple of days to Swanage with the parents this weekend, and was very lucky with the weather. Not great in terms of bird rarities, but some nice photo oppurtunities everywhere so thought I'd take advantage of the sunshine.

My parents don't really understand this whole nature and birding thing that I seem to like, so I thought going on a guided walk at Durlston Country Park (just down the road from our flat) might help to explain it, seeing as this is the perfect time of year for birds singing, trees in blossom etc etc etc... It was a shame then that said guided walk was run by a local with a penchant for folksong and different species of sedge and grass (there are many in case you were wondering) rather than pointing out the more "sexy" species they have on their site. I was hoping to get some tips particularly on bird song, but no such luck. Even so, we saw some pretty interesting stuff...

Green veined orchid. Not pictured: the green veins. You will have to trust me on this :)

Spider orchid

There weren't really any birds pointed out that I hadn't already noticed and told my parents about already (skylark, blue tit, chiff chaff...) but there were heaploads of stonechats perched on fences/gorse bushes looking particularly stunning, and hopping around with nest material.

Stonechat with a goldfinch (please note actual real life lighthouse and everything)

We spent sunday on the beach for a bit being annoyed by some posho's on jetskis, before going on our climb up to the top of old harry, you know just because.

old harry rocks from ballard down.

It's nice once you're there, but can't say I've never been much of a fan of hills. I blame growing up in Essex :)

Umm, can't think of a link but here is some gorse, it's very pretty no?


PS Anybody know what this is?!



This bird was calling repeatedly for hours on end, always staying just out of your line of view and hiding as soon as you got out your camera or binoculars. Bastard.

Anyway, TFL are still being annoying so I am giving up and going to bed. Hope this post wasn't too plant-heavy for you bird lovers :)

Callichthyids everywhere

Phase four of project fish tank went underway today, with the addition of some bottom dwellers... I'm sure there is a hilarious joke here. Anyway, these have come in the shape of two Corydoras panda and one Corydoras schwartzii...

This one is awesome, and so pretty :) Doesn't take any shit from the platys either, who seem to think they are allowed the catfish pellets, how rude.

Much like their mammalian counterparts, this panda likes to hide amongst vegetation and has no thumbs.

I DON'T THINK THIS IS A PANDA. I feel cheated... As long as it doesn't grow to 3 feet long and eat me in my sleep I might let him stay. Still though, I'm a bit annoyed with that one because I was looking forwards to a gaggle of pandas, or whatever the plural of pandas is (if there isn't one I'd like to propose "a failure of pandas"). Quite photogenic though.

Can you tell I have nothing to do with my Saturday evening? Rubbish...

Moar fishes

My 4 minnows managed to pass the challenge and have not died as a result of my tank keeping skillz, so I decided to add some new fish to the clan.

Meet my platys...


I hear that they are pretty good at not dying, and are also livebearers that are very easy to breed (and judging by the goings on today i would probably agree with that).

Anyway, animal count so far is 7 fish, one shrimp called Alan and two stowaway snails.... Not bad.


Alan the shrimp may not look too impressive by the way, but that's just because you don't know him. He's really awesome (oh and if you were wondering, his reflection is on the left).

Paris isn't great for birding

I really enjoyed going to france last weekend, and was very lucky with the weather. Orleans is a really nice town too, and Paris was a bit awesome in the sunshine, and with all of the patisseries... Still, it's a good job I went there to visit friends and see the city rather than birdwatch. France has no birds.

Well that's not entirely true, there are plenty of these...


And a smattering of these guys...


I was excited to see that Hannah's house is opposite a really nice big pond in the middle of loads of farmland, with a huge forest at the end of the road, so I was hopeful of getting a count of at least 20 without having to try too hard, I mean it's not that ambitious.


Nice pond. Only has mallards on it though, with not even a mallard as supporting cast. Intruigingly though, shitloads of mistletoe EVERYWHERE. The hedges were full of sparrows, but no other passerines anywhere. I saw a pheasant and a GREY PARTRIDGE driving around on the way to Orleans one day, so that puts my count up to 6 so far, but then I'm starting to struggle. Magpie, common gull, heard a peacock bizarrely... 9 species.


Didn't matter though, because there was plenty of other stuff to look at, and the sparrows everywhere more than made up for the lack of variety.


Bonjour je suis un sparrow. J'habite dans notre dame, c'est tres chic, non?
Then WAIT. What is that one in the top row, second from the left?


No grey on the head and instead rich brown, with dark cheeks..... TREE SPARROW???
Awesome if it is... see what you think

Anyway, in other news I saw my first ever hare, which ran out infront of our car on the way from the Eurostar to Hannah's house on Thursday. There are also loads of wild boar and deer living in the forest outside of the village, but I didn't have much finding them. Pretty exciting though :) Must go back and investigate further one day...

Quick update...

I have been in France this weekend, so will be making a proper post in the week with some photos etc. Don't get too excited on the birding front though...

In other news, I have tentatively introduced my first fish into my new tank...


Well these are my original fish, but I have to start somewhere. I carefully left my favourite minnow in the old tank for now just in case, but all going well should be there for the weekend so i can go buy some proper new additions. I find this exciting even if nobody else does :)

ecosystemical awesomeness

Today I built an ecosystem. On my desk.


Took ages, but it's AWESOME. Very excited about getting fish to fill it with, but will be a few weeks down the line until it's fully up and running. Compared to my previous tank (only 14 litres) this is a considerable upgrade, and a worthy use of my birthday money in my opinion.



The minnow clan are excited that they will have a new home very soon. I will keep you updated on this one as it progresses...

London has parks and other stuff

I have nearly written about 4 posts in the last couple of weeks but a certain person keeps beating me to it and, even worse, keeps stealing my photos with it. I'll summarise it to blah blah OMFG I SAW A BARN OWL IT WAS ---------------THIS BIG-------------------- amusing angry geese blah blah waxwings have very bad taste and are rubbish blah blah etc etc.

Anyway. I've had a busy few days going to lots of lovely places and being all civilised. Went to the Natural History Museum which was crammed full of school kids and out of date taxonomy. Really cool place, but it's the first time I ever really noticed that it's looking a bit tired and in need of updating. I just find it odd that they have something as massively rare as a Javan and a Sumatran Rhino in their collection and not even COMMENT on their conservation status. Darwin exhibition was good, but I think it could have been better considering the scale of the subject they're talking about.

Stopped in Hyde park on our way back home, and it's starting to look like Spring is around the corner. This Squirrel was making it hard to prove my point though...


These things move around A LOT. They also like shoes, in case you wanted to know.


Getting closer here. Just a shame he is pointing exactly the wrong way...


Hooray, nomnomnomnomnom....


Turns out tourists do have their uses- standing next to one throwing bread in the air can make some nice photos.


Anybody know what this is? Red-crested Pochard + Tuftie I reckon...

I promise more full sentences in my next post and less dross. Maybe.