Nope, this entry isn't a veiled homage to the classic Simpsons "Monorail" episode, where Homer J gives a possum a new name, it's a reference to the outrageous behaviour of the midges at Marshside and later Taggs Island....
They were out in force and biting like bugger...especially up near Crossens Inner. Really annoying.
The marsh was fairly quiet - a Merlin and Kestrel on the outer marsh, and Little Egret and squealing Water Rails north of Polly's Creek.
A pair of Skylarks were dustbathing in the Sandplant compound, and up to 60 Greenfinches and Goldfinches were feeding on seedheads.
A single Small Tortoiseshell was on the wing here too.
Skeins of Pinkies about too, but it was pretty murky on the outer marsh.
A big raptor perched up in the haze may have been a Common Buzzard, but was too far away to tell.
A single Stonechat was around the sandplant wall,s and the Glossy Ibis had been about earlier from Sandgrounders hide, as had the regular Water Rail, but neither were showing when Neill and I went in.
All the usual stuff feeding and roosting - Lapwings, Goldies, Blackwits, Wigeon, Teal etc.
Tired of being feasted on by the midges I drove down to Taggs Island, where the little weasels were still biting, but not as bad.
Taggs was okay - three Stonechats, doing their bit to reduce the midge population, about 20 Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Reed Buntings, Mistle Thrushes, Wrens and a single female Teal.
A splash about in the reeds produced 7-8 Common Snipe, and at least 3 Jack Snipe, one of which flushed about a foot away from me.
Small gull roost on the beach, just the usual species.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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John Bannon wrote...
RE: The Nocturnal Birders Club. Like it !!
28 Redwing 'seeps' and 2 Song Thrush 'squeeks' when walking Teddy around the block on Friday evening. The perambulation takes 10 minutes, so multiplying 28 x 6 = 168 Redwing seeps per hour x estimated Redwing party size of say 13, (a Tony Baker's dozen) would suggest an hourly passage over my 'block' of 2,184 per hour !
Times say 12 hours of darkness, gives a nightly passage of 26,208 Redwings !
Given that the Redwing population of Finland (where most of our birds come from) is around 2.5 million pairs or 5 million birds, (double if for their young) gives an estimated population of 10 million Punakylkirastas !!
It would thus take 381 .5 twelve-hour nights for these birds to flyover my regular evening walk.
Obviously, my scientifically-based gut feeling, is that this is not possible, so they must also flyover other locations too.
Why not join the Nocturnal Birding Club like me and help to solve these great non-mysteries of nature.
For instance, I have not seen much about counting Common Snipe as they cross the full moon as they must surely do, even when it's cloudy. There are only 120,000 pairs of Snipe in Finland, so counting them would theoretically be easier.
John Bannon
Posted by: John Bannon | November 4, 2007 10:15 PM