Yesterday evening was spent searching for nightlife five minute walk away from my digs. The sound of frogs you could hear all over the shop as you hit the river. Four of us made our ways up stream and were very successful. I'm still in the process of identifying some of the life we encountered last night and it would be a great help if anyone can let me know what the unidentified species are.
Volunteering at an animal sanctuary and while working in the garden I came across 2 superbTailess Whip Scorpion.
I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica on Monday and a 45 minute drive north of the city at San Migual, I arrived at the animal sanctuary where I'll be volunteering in looking after the animals for the next few weeks. I'm enjoying it so far. The food is very good and there is so much that I have forths! The other volunteers are great crowd to work with. As I'm in a rural part of the country with the nearest shop being a thirty minute drive away, the internet can be hard to get. However, being out in the sticks and there is so much wildlife to see just outside my doorstep! I ain't explored that much, due to working, but today I was moving sheets of metal in the garden. Now at home, all you would be worried about what might jump out at you when you lift the sheets of metal is, nothing! Here it's a little different and while carefully lifting each sheet up, so not to harm anythin that might be under, were 2 Tailess Whip Scorpion and Woodland Cockroach and a frog that got away. I've not done any birding really and anythin that I have seen has been a stones throw away from my accommodation. Here are a selection of photos of my first few days at the animal sanctuary.
Part of the accommodation where I'm staying. Wroke up on the first morning and there was a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl perched outside
And just outside my door are these beautiful Zebra Tarantrula that hide in theirs holes until you tickle the entrance with a long piece of grass stem
Tropical Orb Spider
Orchard Orbweaver
Arrowshaped Micrathena
Leopard Wandering Spider
Tailess Whip Scorpion
This Woodland Cockroach is nearly as big as my hand and that's it's dropping behind it!!
Only a few minutes walk and there is a river and an evening stroll produced this Rain Frog
and during the day there is Spotted Sandpiper and this Green Kingfisher
Crane Hawk
Squirrel Cuckoo
Cinnamon Hummingbird
Masked Tityra
Hoffman's Woodpecker
Yellow Warbler
Summer Tanager
The talented singer/songwriter Laura Marling with her latest single.
Two days ago Jim Almond got the Long-tailed Duck at Ellesmere and then went and found one of his own less than a mile away at Colemere! If that wasn't enough, he also got 3 Scaup at nearby Whitemere. So this morning I arrived at the meres and connecting with all five ducks. However, I got a surprise when I found that the female had moved from Colemere and joined up with the 1st winter male on Ellesmere. The only other birds of note was 45 Gooseander on Whitemere and on Ellesmere, the male Mandarin and 75+Cormorant. Just before mid-day I had a look at the 1st winter male Velvet Scoter at Trench Pool and news came on that the ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD had been seen at Whixall Moss! Yesterday the 2nd winter RING-BILLED GULL reappeared at the gull roost at chelmarsh but no sign of the 6 Tundra Bean Geese.
It felt like being on the east coast in Salop this morning with 2 Long-tailed Duck, 3 Scaup and the Velvet Scoter I think there is only one other Salop record of 2 LTD being recorded together.
Up to over 500 Lesser-black backed Gull were at Hortonwood and included the adult Yellow-legged Gull the adult LBBGxHerring Gull.
The 30th November found me at Chelmarsh hoping to catch Tom Lowe's RING-BILLED GULL that he had in the roost the day before. It was still dark when I arrived and the gulls were moving out in there 100's. As it started to get light, I located the 6 Tundra Bean Goose and there were over 60 Gooseander on the res. I saw my first Tundra Bean Goose for Shropshire at Venus Pool in March '97 that Rob Dowley found. Then I caught up with the individual a few winters ago at Prisorlee Flash and now this amazing record of six!
No sign of the RBG so it was a drive to the north of the county to search for the mega, Rough-legged Buzzard that was photographed at whixall Moos on the 25th November. I walked and walked miles for hours in the warm sunshine on the moss and there was no sign of the male Hen Harrier, Great Grey Shrike ot the damn buzzard. I had to make do with 3 Merlin, 2 female together and 1 adult male, 2 Buzzard and 100+redpoll overhead.
I returned home to Trench Pool and got an sub-adult and adult Yellow-legged Gull with the Velvet Scoter.
An adult male and 2 female Merlin were at Whixall Moss
Sub-adult and adult Yellow-legged Gull at Trench Pool
Adult Yellow-legged Gull at Hortonwood
The Velvet Scoter was still attracting admires
Tony Joe White wrote 'Midnight train to Georgia' and this song 'Keep Going' has been brilliantly mixed by DJ BOOZOO BAJOU. It's got a lot of the German band, Slackwax in it.
