1st October 2006.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
I was to be alone today, Sue was having a lie-in and Leon was going to watch John playing rugby at Richmond. I decided to have a bit of a lie-in myself so did not leave until about ten o’clock. The ‘bus came almost immediately and so I was on site by about ten past ten. The weather, earlier on, had been lovely but it was now deteriorating rapidly. Vast grey clouds were marching towards me at an alarming rate. I stopped first at the ‘Observatory’, a thing that we normally do as it gives us the chance to get our glasses on and notebooks ready. It is also handy to have a quick look around to see what is about, usually we see between fifteen and twenty different birds from here in the first few minutes. Outside, the rain had started and most birds were quickly making their way to the leeward side of any available shelter. This put them on the ‘wrong side’ for me, not a very good start!
As I would probably be spending more time than usual at the site today, I decided to do everything that we would normally do twice and spend a little more time at each place. I would also do them in the reverse order. I moved off in the direction of ‘Waterlife’.
As I entered ‘Waterlife’, a literal ‘cloud’ of Finches and Tits broke cover and started to proceed along the edges of the path in front of me! They were making an incredible amount of noise and genuinely seemed to be having a whale of a time. I felt like Uncle Remus! Perhaps I should have sung ‘Zip a de do dah’! The birds stayed for quite some time but moved off as the rain started to get very heavy. I went into the ‘Dulverton’ hide, more to get out of the rain than anything else. There was not much about and to make matters worse I saw a bird, just a glimpse, enough to know that I hadn’t seen one before, but not enough to make a good observation. Although Leon and myself have learned so much in the last fifteen months or so, it just went to show how little we do know and how much more we have to learn!
The rain easing I made my way to the bird feeder. There were a good few birds there and they seem to have adapted to the noise that ‘the little darlings’ make in the new ‘Explore!’ section. I wish that I could! From the feeder I walked around the ‘Lagoon’, once again the sheer number of birds and the amount of noise they were making astounded me. I saw a young Green Woodpecker here, one that we seem to see quite frequently; He seemed very intent on something beneath one of the bushes. I watched him for a while and when some people came along and frightened him off, I went to see what had been of such interest. I could see nothing at all. There were no marks that he may have made on the ground, nor was there anything like an ants nest which I know that they love. I carried on towards the ‘Peacock Tower’, getting there just as the heavens opened again!
The ‘Wader Scrape was crammed with Teal and there were also lots of Shovellers, Wigeon and Mallard. I would say that there were probably over a hundred Teal. I spotted a Common Snipe just in front of the Sandmartin Bank amongst some foliage. I pointed him out to one of the chaps that I recognised as a ‘regular’, for which he thanked me and let me have a look at it through his ‘scope. Everything suddenly went up in the air. We looked around but could see no evidence of a raptor. The ‘regular’ told me that a Kingfisher was moving across the ‘Grazing Marsh’. Whilst tracking him I noticed a strange looking ‘pigeon’ on the ground. Going back to the ‘pigeon’ I noticed that it was way to thin but at this distance my glasses were not the greatest tool to be using. I asked the ‘regular’ if he would mind having a quick ‘butchers’ to see what it was. My suspicions were proved right when he announced, “Sparrowhawk! You did well to spot that!” Once again he let me have a look through his ‘scope, it was a male and his eyes were quite piercing. Some of his friends turned up to be told of old ‘eagle eyes’ Normans’ skill at spotting ‘awkward’ birds! After watching the large flocks of gulls that had assembled and now that the rain had once again abated, I moved off towards the ‘Wildside’ stopping briefly at the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide where I had a good view of the Kingfisher flying back and forth.
By the time that I got to the ‘Observatory’ again it had once more started to rain heavily. I took shelter there and watched both Little and Great Crested Grebes working hard for their lunch. It did not rain for long, which seemed to be the pattern for the day, so I soon moved off to the ‘Wildside’ hide.
I spent quite some time there in the hope that, as they had cleared so much ground and our sighting last week of the Meadow Pipit, I might see some more migrants. Maybe eve a glimpse of the Yellow Wagtails that had been seen on several occasions just recently. There were several very heavy showers and I wondered if this was what was keeping them away? In the breaks in the weather I watched a Kestrel drifting up and down the Thames (not in the water!) and hovering every now and then.
As I was scanning the ‘Grazing Marsh’ I saw a bird coming almost towards me at an incredible speed. It was a Sparrowhawk and it was making for a group of Teal that were nibbling grass not far from the bank of the lake! The birds tumbled everywhere and the strike was missed. The Teal were back in the water in just a few seconds while the Sparrowhawk looked around seemingly a little dazed. In no time though he took off again and sped away, only about a foot above the water along the length of the lake. As he approached the many Coots in his path, they dived causing quite a splash, reminding me of naval shells hitting the water! He flew at an angle to the wind which I believe is called ‘slewing’
It started to rain then, so heavy that I could see next to nothing through the glasses. The temperature had also dropped somewhat and I was glad of my coat. When the weather cleared, yet again, I made my way to the ‘Headley’ hide by way of the Summer Walk. I met a chap on the way who motioned me to stand still and then nodded in then direction of lakeside tree. After looking for a few moments I saw a small bird that I had only seen once before, on holiday in Crete about a month ago. It was my first Spotted Flycatcher. We watched it for a few minutes until it flew off. “Spotted Flycatcher, seen it before?” he asked. “Not that particular one I don’t think”. says I. Not a glimmer.
As I reached the ‘Headley’ hide the rain came pouring down yet again. So far, I had managed to stay almost completely dry! With the rain most of the birds seemed to melt away for a short time and there was not much to see. As the sun came out the Cormorants on the rafts stretched their wings out and started to dry them. I wondered how many times they had done that today?
Stopping at all of the hides on the way back to the ‘Peacock Tower’ I was amazed to see that there were still lots of the smaller birds about. The feeder was still very busy and had collected quite a crowd of small children with their parents. On the path around the ‘Lagoon’ I watched a Great Spotted Woodpecker trying to get out f the wind that had sprung up. He was desperately hanging on, perhaps looking for looking for a crevice to hide in. I wonder if he knew what was coming?
The sky was a glowering, slate grey colour as I reached the Tower. Distant rumbles of thunder could be heard and I could see the odd flash of lightning. Once again the rain held off until I was about to step through the door. Darkness seemed to fall and the heaviest rain I had witnessed for some time came thundering down. “Missed!” I said under my breath!
The storm continued for some time so, in the gloom, I read up on the Spotted Flycatcher that I had seen earlier. As the sky cleared I could see that most of the birds out on the various lakes had just sat and rode out the weather. I don’t suppose that hey had much choice really. The ‘regular’ was still there and after he asked me how I had managed to stay dry (“skill”), he told me about several sightings that they had had. One was of a Kingfisher sat on the fence with a juvenile bird whilst, on the post above them, sat a Sparrowhawk! One of his friends has a picture of it!
The sun soon came out and there was a most beautiful rainbow. I didn’t have my camera so I snapped it with my ‘phone. If the picture comes out I will post it here.
I revisited all of the hides again but the weather seemed to have put the birds off and there was not much to see. Most other people who had been there for most of the day seem to have drifted off as well so I decided to make a move homewards. I stopped at the ’office’ for a quick one. “I bet you got wet!” was the cheery comment from one of the ‘office’ staff. “Not me!” says I, “I live a charmed life!” I wish I hadn’t said that. As I left to get the ‘bus home, you’ve guessed it, I got saturated!
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Ruddy duck, Little Grebe, Carrion Crow, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Heron, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coot, Moorhen, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Goldfinch, Starling, Ring Necked Parakeet, Shoveller, Wood Pigeon, Teal, Blackbird, Jay, Green Woodpecker, Coal tit, Mute Swan, Wren, Lapwing, Great Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Gadwall, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Stock Dove, Common Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher, Magpie, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Pochard, Spotted Flycatcher, House Martin, Canada Goose, Wigeon, Kestrel, Whooper Swan, Greenfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Warbler.
I was to be alone today, Sue was having a lie-in and Leon was going to watch John playing rugby at Richmond. I decided to have a bit of a lie-in myself so did not leave until about ten o’clock. The ‘bus came almost immediately and so I was on site by about ten past ten. The weather, earlier on, had been lovely but it was now deteriorating rapidly. Vast grey clouds were marching towards me at an alarming rate. I stopped first at the ‘Observatory’, a thing that we normally do as it gives us the chance to get our glasses on and notebooks ready. It is also handy to have a quick look around to see what is about, usually we see between fifteen and twenty different birds from here in the first few minutes. Outside, the rain had started and most birds were quickly making their way to the leeward side of any available shelter. This put them on the ‘wrong side’ for me, not a very good start!
As I would probably be spending more time than usual at the site today, I decided to do everything that we would normally do twice and spend a little more time at each place. I would also do them in the reverse order. I moved off in the direction of ‘Waterlife’.
As I entered ‘Waterlife’, a literal ‘cloud’ of Finches and Tits broke cover and started to proceed along the edges of the path in front of me! They were making an incredible amount of noise and genuinely seemed to be having a whale of a time. I felt like Uncle Remus! Perhaps I should have sung ‘Zip a de do dah’! The birds stayed for quite some time but moved off as the rain started to get very heavy. I went into the ‘Dulverton’ hide, more to get out of the rain than anything else. There was not much about and to make matters worse I saw a bird, just a glimpse, enough to know that I hadn’t seen one before, but not enough to make a good observation. Although Leon and myself have learned so much in the last fifteen months or so, it just went to show how little we do know and how much more we have to learn!
The rain easing I made my way to the bird feeder. There were a good few birds there and they seem to have adapted to the noise that ‘the little darlings’ make in the new ‘Explore!’ section. I wish that I could! From the feeder I walked around the ‘Lagoon’, once again the sheer number of birds and the amount of noise they were making astounded me. I saw a young Green Woodpecker here, one that we seem to see quite frequently; He seemed very intent on something beneath one of the bushes. I watched him for a while and when some people came along and frightened him off, I went to see what had been of such interest. I could see nothing at all. There were no marks that he may have made on the ground, nor was there anything like an ants nest which I know that they love. I carried on towards the ‘Peacock Tower’, getting there just as the heavens opened again!
The ‘Wader Scrape was crammed with Teal and there were also lots of Shovellers, Wigeon and Mallard. I would say that there were probably over a hundred Teal. I spotted a Common Snipe just in front of the Sandmartin Bank amongst some foliage. I pointed him out to one of the chaps that I recognised as a ‘regular’, for which he thanked me and let me have a look at it through his ‘scope. Everything suddenly went up in the air. We looked around but could see no evidence of a raptor. The ‘regular’ told me that a Kingfisher was moving across the ‘Grazing Marsh’. Whilst tracking him I noticed a strange looking ‘pigeon’ on the ground. Going back to the ‘pigeon’ I noticed that it was way to thin but at this distance my glasses were not the greatest tool to be using. I asked the ‘regular’ if he would mind having a quick ‘butchers’ to see what it was. My suspicions were proved right when he announced, “Sparrowhawk! You did well to spot that!” Once again he let me have a look through his ‘scope, it was a male and his eyes were quite piercing. Some of his friends turned up to be told of old ‘eagle eyes’ Normans’ skill at spotting ‘awkward’ birds! After watching the large flocks of gulls that had assembled and now that the rain had once again abated, I moved off towards the ‘Wildside’ stopping briefly at the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide where I had a good view of the Kingfisher flying back and forth.
By the time that I got to the ‘Observatory’ again it had once more started to rain heavily. I took shelter there and watched both Little and Great Crested Grebes working hard for their lunch. It did not rain for long, which seemed to be the pattern for the day, so I soon moved off to the ‘Wildside’ hide.
I spent quite some time there in the hope that, as they had cleared so much ground and our sighting last week of the Meadow Pipit, I might see some more migrants. Maybe eve a glimpse of the Yellow Wagtails that had been seen on several occasions just recently. There were several very heavy showers and I wondered if this was what was keeping them away? In the breaks in the weather I watched a Kestrel drifting up and down the Thames (not in the water!) and hovering every now and then.
As I was scanning the ‘Grazing Marsh’ I saw a bird coming almost towards me at an incredible speed. It was a Sparrowhawk and it was making for a group of Teal that were nibbling grass not far from the bank of the lake! The birds tumbled everywhere and the strike was missed. The Teal were back in the water in just a few seconds while the Sparrowhawk looked around seemingly a little dazed. In no time though he took off again and sped away, only about a foot above the water along the length of the lake. As he approached the many Coots in his path, they dived causing quite a splash, reminding me of naval shells hitting the water! He flew at an angle to the wind which I believe is called ‘slewing’
It started to rain then, so heavy that I could see next to nothing through the glasses. The temperature had also dropped somewhat and I was glad of my coat. When the weather cleared, yet again, I made my way to the ‘Headley’ hide by way of the Summer Walk. I met a chap on the way who motioned me to stand still and then nodded in then direction of lakeside tree. After looking for a few moments I saw a small bird that I had only seen once before, on holiday in Crete about a month ago. It was my first Spotted Flycatcher. We watched it for a few minutes until it flew off. “Spotted Flycatcher, seen it before?” he asked. “Not that particular one I don’t think”. says I. Not a glimmer.
As I reached the ‘Headley’ hide the rain came pouring down yet again. So far, I had managed to stay almost completely dry! With the rain most of the birds seemed to melt away for a short time and there was not much to see. As the sun came out the Cormorants on the rafts stretched their wings out and started to dry them. I wondered how many times they had done that today?
Stopping at all of the hides on the way back to the ‘Peacock Tower’ I was amazed to see that there were still lots of the smaller birds about. The feeder was still very busy and had collected quite a crowd of small children with their parents. On the path around the ‘Lagoon’ I watched a Great Spotted Woodpecker trying to get out f the wind that had sprung up. He was desperately hanging on, perhaps looking for looking for a crevice to hide in. I wonder if he knew what was coming?
The sky was a glowering, slate grey colour as I reached the Tower. Distant rumbles of thunder could be heard and I could see the odd flash of lightning. Once again the rain held off until I was about to step through the door. Darkness seemed to fall and the heaviest rain I had witnessed for some time came thundering down. “Missed!” I said under my breath!
The storm continued for some time so, in the gloom, I read up on the Spotted Flycatcher that I had seen earlier. As the sky cleared I could see that most of the birds out on the various lakes had just sat and rode out the weather. I don’t suppose that hey had much choice really. The ‘regular’ was still there and after he asked me how I had managed to stay dry (“skill”), he told me about several sightings that they had had. One was of a Kingfisher sat on the fence with a juvenile bird whilst, on the post above them, sat a Sparrowhawk! One of his friends has a picture of it!
The sun soon came out and there was a most beautiful rainbow. I didn’t have my camera so I snapped it with my ‘phone. If the picture comes out I will post it here.
I revisited all of the hides again but the weather seemed to have put the birds off and there was not much to see. Most other people who had been there for most of the day seem to have drifted off as well so I decided to make a move homewards. I stopped at the ’office’ for a quick one. “I bet you got wet!” was the cheery comment from one of the ‘office’ staff. “Not me!” says I, “I live a charmed life!” I wish I hadn’t said that. As I left to get the ‘bus home, you’ve guessed it, I got saturated!
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Ruddy duck, Little Grebe, Carrion Crow, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Heron, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coot, Moorhen, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Goldfinch, Starling, Ring Necked Parakeet, Shoveller, Wood Pigeon, Teal, Blackbird, Jay, Green Woodpecker, Coal tit, Mute Swan, Wren, Lapwing, Great Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Gadwall, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Stock Dove, Common Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher, Magpie, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Pochard, Spotted Flycatcher, House Martin, Canada Goose, Wigeon, Kestrel, Whooper Swan, Greenfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Warbler.
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