April 2014 – ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY

ST GEORGE, PORTLAND, DORSET: UNUSED BUT NOT UNLOVED

Published on April 29, 2014May 1, 2014 by Rolling Harbour2 Comments

St George, Portland stands high up on Portland, Dorset. Built from the famed local Portland stone in an unusual mish-mash of styles, it is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, which will at least ensure its survival even if services are no longer regularly held there. Pevsner calls it “the most impressive c17 church in Dorset”.

The church and churchyard contain plenty of reminders of Portland’s past both as a significant stone quarrying area, and as a place of major nautical importance. There can’t be many churches with a memorial for those killed by a press gang.

The churchyard is rather wild in places and contains some large commemorative statues. We were intrigued by one quite tidy grave (below) and were left wondering about the design – the little roofed gateway, the raised apart in the top right corner. What does that indicate?

The thick grey walls of St George are typical of the local stone.

The unkempt churchyard is a good place for wildlife, with plenty of hunting perches for kestrels

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A BABY SONGBIRD OUT OF ITS NEST…

Published on April 24, 2014April 24, 2014 by Rolling Harbour4 Comments

There’s plenty of advice on this fraught topic to be found on the internet and elsewhere, much of it common sense. I haven’t seen it set out as simply as in this graphic from the US, leavened with a good dose of humour too. Well, it made me laugh, anyway. I normally put my own stuff on this blog, but occasionally it’s worth making an exception. I have to say that if the answer to the first question is ‘Yes’ and the injury is serious, there may in fact be a need to take more swift and drastic action for the bird’s own sake. That’s another topic, however…

Props to birdandmoon.com; baby blackbirds in Dorset RH

SPRING IN THE AIR IN DORSET THIS WEEK

Published on April 17, 2014 by Rolling Harbour2 Comments

The sun is shining, the birds are twitterpating (©Disney), the trout season has opened. Also, the first swallows arrived on Tuesday, followed by the martins on Wednesday. These birds are already checking out the mud nests under the eaves that remain from last year. Martins' Nest Totnell 4.14

The hedges are suddenly greening up and the grass is beginning to grow fast. The Alpacas, formerly the official lawnmowers for the paddock, have been banished to another field to give the ground a rest. That means resorting to the mechanical method for the first cut of the year.

Some creatures appear to have got Spring fever. The rabbits for a start, who are clearly ‘going at it’ for all they are worth. And the sheep over the road surprised me one evening when I opened the kitchen door (the notice on the gate is good for their self-esteem). Sheep climbing bales Totnell 14

My first fishing of the season yesterday, on the River Piddle (as in Tolpuddle) – very pretty, pretty unproductive… Today on the River Frome, the swallows were skimming insects off the surface of the water. There were heron and egrets, and a pair of common sandpipers clearly looking for a suitable nesting site. It’s been a great Spring week.

The moon and stars have been wonderful all week. There have been plenty of moon photos around, pink or otherwise, but one evening Mars was gleaming brightly too. Only one shot was steady enough to use – at maximum zoom most of the images looked like squiggles.

Full Moon Totnell 14 Mars Totnell 14

INSECT (BEE? FLY?) AND A PINK MOON (FOR NICK DRAKE?)

Published on April 14, 2014April 15, 2014 by Rolling Harbour6 Comments

First of all, what is this insect? (Amelia? Anyone? NOW SEE BELOW FOR ID) I saw a couple in the garden last year but had no camera with me. Today I at least had my phone. I’m sure it’s completely obvious – ‘a sting-snouted lesser hornet’ – but I’d like an authoritative ruling. Additional clue: they can hover.

Thanks to Jessica of the excellent blog NATURE IN FOCUS for ID as a member of the Bombylidae family, with the common name of bee-flies (see comments below). That lead me to the Natural History Museum website, where I found a very similar creature Bombylius major. The wing patterns in particular look much the same.Here’s the NHM image.

Secondly, there’s supposed to be a pink moon either tonight at around 3.00 a.m. tomorrow morning; or possibly tomorrow night at 3.00 the next night… It’s caused by a lunar eclipse, expected to last from 2.00 am to 4.30. The pink / red is to do with angle and atmosphere (as with dawn and dusk). Apparently. I tried to photograph the moon last night here in Dorset, where the light pollution is not too bad. It shone with extraordinary brightness and ‘flared’ my attempts. I’ve pinked one up in case I don’t wake up for the real thing…

An opportunity to remember Nick Drake, I think… Here’s the full album for nostalgics – and just the title track to follow.

BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL: ARUM LILIES

Published on April 11, 2014 by Rolling Harbour3 Comments

The Arum Lilies (Zantedeschia) have just started to unfurl from their green pointy stage, and the flowers are in flawless condition. I took a closer look at the yellow stick in the middle (spadix – I had to google ‘yellow stick in arum lily’).

Looking down the spadix, the tightly packed nobbles (nodules?) are beginning to open out into strange little mushroomy shapes. I have no idea what’s going on there, except that it is presumably to do with pollination. Strangely, the bees don’t seem attracted to the flower, which may be poisonous to them.

Spring. Time to reset the sundial to summertime. This armillary (or bow) sundial was made in Dorset, and rests on a chunk of cut cornish Delabole slate. If you are passing the quarry, they have a slate pile from which you can take offcuts.

TUFTED DUCKS ON WIMBLEDON COMMON

Published on April 7, 2014 by Rolling Harbour5 Comments

A family walk, a new place to explore (notwithstanding that we’ve lived within 5 miles of it for 35 years… ), and a small point & shoot camera. I took advice from the youngest member of the party and snapped these tufted ducks. I was lucky with the light on the water. In the last one I happened to point the camera in the right place just as it surfaced from a dive. No wonder it looks a bit surprised…