Dorset Wildlife – Page 4 – ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY

PIED WAGTAILS, OCTOBER, DORSET

Published on October 10, 2014 by Rolling Harbour4 Comments

We are lucky enough to have pied wagtails – usually just one pair – in the garden every year. They raised a family and for much of the summer there were 4 patrolling the roof ridge. Recently, prolific evening fly hatches have provided them with great sport as they hawk for the insects from the roof, fluttering briefly into action and returning to their perch. On some evenings they have been joined by up to 2 dozen other wagtails, and for half an hour at dusk they have looped and swooped round and round, eating on the wing. I wondered if there was a collective noun for wagtails to go with the charms, murmurations, murders and parliaments that other birds are awarded. The only one I found was in a jocular list by a determinedly downbeat birder, who applied the term ‘a permanent narcissism of wagtails’.

Pied Wagtail Dorset 8 Pied Wagtail Dorset 7

‘SHEEP MAY SAFELY GRAZE…’: PASTORAL DORSET

Published on September 16, 2014 by Rolling Harbour4 Comments

For six years we had our neighbour’s 3 alpacas in our paddock. Advantages: they mowed the grass and were decorative. Drawbacks: they caused a lot of damage by digging and from their peculiarly toxic waste; and were annoyingly passive / aggressive. So we moved them off, spent last winter filling in all the holes with a ton of topsoil and re-seeding, followed by a programme of regular harrowing, mowing and rolling to make the field ready for our son’s wedding on midsummer’s day (where we had our own reception a few ~~years~~ decades ago).

Now what? The answer is: sheep. Peaceful, munching grazers with no obvious drawbacks. A young farmer in the village has put 7 pregnant Poll Dorset sheep in the paddock. Result: pastoral scenes, evenly cropped grass, and a damage-free field – with pre-Christmas lambs in prospect. Dorset Poll Sheep 7

The Dorset breed of sheep comes in both poll and horn varieties. Here are specimens of each kind photographed at a recent show in Dorset. The breed is hardy (as befits Hardy country), and unusually they can lamb 3 times over the course of 2 years, making them a productive option for a young farmer building up his flock.

GULL STUDIES, WEST BAY BEACH, DORSET

Published on September 12, 2014 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

A collection of seagulls of various ages strutting their stuff on the beach at West Bay, Dorset

GATEKEEPER BUTTERFLY, DORSET

Published on September 4, 2014 by Rolling Harbour2 Comments

The Gatekeeper is (yet) another butterfly species that I have photographed this year for the first time in our garden in Dorset. There are several possible reasons for this: I haven’t bothered to notice them before; I have noticed them, but confused them with the similar meadow browns I do recognise; I have become more observant and butterfly-aware since we restored the garden and planted a lot of bee / butterfly / moth attractant plants; the species is in fact new to the garden, perhaps for the previous reason. Anyway, whichever is right, they suddenly arrived in the garden / I finally recognised this ‘new’ species in early August. Here are some.

THE FIRST GATEKEEPER I NOTICED THIS YEAR Gatekeeper Butterfly, Dorset (1st of the year)

SUBSEQUENT SIGHTINGS

SMALL SKIPPER, DORSET

Published on August 16, 2014 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY, DORSET

Published on July 30, 2014 by Rolling Harbour7 Comments

I’ve only noticed the appearance of this pretty little butterfly species in the last couple of days. They are the devil to photograph – very small, often ensuring several blades of grass get between it and you so the focus goes awry, and always on the move. That’s my excuse, anyway.

COMMA BUTTERFLY BY THE RIVER FROME, DORSET

Published on July 17, 2014 by Rolling Harbour5 Comments

I can’t remember when I last saw a Comma, but yesterday there was one fluttering around me as I fished on the Frome. I’d forgotten how comparatively large they are. I only had a tiny camera with me, one that doesn’t matter if it goes in the water. It’s for recording fish, should I ever catch one and have a free hand available as I remove the (barbless) hook and release the fish as quickly as possible. In practice, never.

There were wonderful damselflies – blue, turquoise, reddish and green – but it would have been a waste of time to photograph them. I also saw a white egret (quite common now in Dorset) and 4 kingfishers. Or more likely the same bird 4 times.

‘SILFLAY’: RABBITS I SHOT LAST NIGHT…

Published on June 11, 2014 by Rolling Harbour2 Comments

With a camera, OK? Clearing a gateway to the field opposite our house has revealed a burrow. It’s no surprise, it’s a good year for rabbits in this part of Dorset, and I have already filled 3 burrows dug in our garden… But I suspect there’s a massive warren, and they just pop up again somewhere else. A couple of nights ago I took a few photos of rabbits enjoying ‘Silflay’ (© Richard Adams, Watership Down), the evening feed in the open. A glitch eradicated them. Yesterday evening in the sunshine, I took some closer shots of 2 rabbits by the burrow. Very picturesque. As long as they stay that side of the road…