18th MARCH 2007.
MOTHERS DAY SURPRISE!
Leon and I had made an early start to the day with a visit to Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens. The weather had not been kind it being extremely windy. There were sunny patches in the sky and no rain but the wind was horrendous! We arrived at the Centre at about 10:20 and went straight to the restaurant for breakfast; both of us were really hungry and still a little cold from the wind earlier in the day!
MOTHERS DAY SURPRISE!
Leon and I had made an early start to the day with a visit to Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens. The weather had not been kind it being extremely windy. There were sunny patches in the sky and no rain but the wind was horrendous! We arrived at the Centre at about 10:20 and went straight to the restaurant for breakfast; both of us were really hungry and still a little cold from the wind earlier in the day!
SUNNY, BUT SOOO WINDY!Photo: Leon Rusk
THE ROBIN HAD MORE SENSE THAN US!
Whilst eating we received a really nice surprise. Our friend Terry joined us; he had already told us that he would not be around today as it was Mothers Day and that he would spend it at home with his wife, Liz. They had decided to bring their granddaughters to the Centre, along with one of their small friends, and Liz had said that Terry could ‘have an hour or so birding’ on his own! We saw Liz and the girls walking past but could not attract her attention. We thought the best thing to do was to wander around the Waterlife areas first for a change as this would give us the maximum time together.
It was still very windy and most birds seemed to be staying well in the cover. The feeder area was a particular disappointment as there were no birds at all on view!
Walking around the Sheltered Lagoon produced only a few birds and the birds on the Lagoon itself were keeping in the lee of the banks and islands. I cannot say that I blame them!
It was still very windy and most birds seemed to be staying well in the cover. The feeder area was a particular disappointment as there were no birds at all on view!
Walking around the Sheltered Lagoon produced only a few birds and the birds on the Lagoon itself were keeping in the lee of the banks and islands. I cannot say that I blame them!
THE ROBIN HAD MORE SENSE THAN US!Photo: Leon Rusk
THE BOYS' FIRST ATTEMPT!
The Wader Scrape was to prove to be more productive; although still quite open it was benefiting from the shelter of the bankside vegetation and fencing. It was noticeably calmer than the areas that we had already visited. There were quite a few more birds showing here although not o the numbers we would usually have expected. One of the first birds we spotted was a Common Snipe on one of the islands. He had found himself a relatively sheltered spot behind one of the gravel ‘shelves’ also slightly sheltered by some bankside vegetation. He was trying to grab some shut-eye whilst standing on one leg; almost impossible even in the much reduced air flow! Terry had the idea of trying to digiscope the bird using his ‘scope and Leons’ camera. This worked fairly well for a first attempt.
THE BOYS' FIRST ATTEMPT!Photo: Leon Rusk / Terry Burton
SECOND DIGISCOPING ATTEMPT!
Moving on to the Peacock Tower we were once again to be disappointed by the number of birds on view. We should have been expecting it to be so but we live in hope! We did see our first Redshanks of the season and were even lucky enough to see a Water Pipit that had been hanging around for a few days. He didn’t hang around long though and soon vanished into cover. The bird had been kindly pointed out by ‘the regulars’ and they allowed us a quick peek through their ‘scopes. The waves on the Main Lake were larger than I had ever seen them and I do not blame the birds for staying in the lee of the islands or sheltering amongst the dead reeds.
We moved on to the WWF hide where the story was much the same. We noticed a Heron sheltering amongst the reeds and the boys decided to try for some pictures using the ‘scope again. Once more, for beginners the results were not too bad at all!
We moved on to the WWF hide where the story was much the same. We noticed a Heron sheltering amongst the reeds and the boys decided to try for some pictures using the ‘scope again. Once more, for beginners the results were not too bad at all!
SECOND DIGISCOPING ATTEMPT!Photo: Leon Rusk / Terry Burton
WORSENING CONDITIONS!
Terry had to be making his way back to meet Liz and the girls so we accompanied him some of the way before saying our good-byes.
The Wildside was our next destination; we expected much of the same and were not disappointed! There were birds about but they were staying well into the cover and when we arrived at the Wildside hide everything was on the wrong side of the available cover for us to see anything!
We decided that, like the birds, we needed to take cover somewhere a little warmer than where we were! We thought about this for some time and decided on moving to ‘the office’ where we could warm up and talk about the days’ events.
The Wildside was our next destination; we expected much of the same and were not disappointed! There were birds about but they were staying well into the cover and when we arrived at the Wildside hide everything was on the wrong side of the available cover for us to see anything!
We decided that, like the birds, we needed to take cover somewhere a little warmer than where we were! We thought about this for some time and decided on moving to ‘the office’ where we could warm up and talk about the days’ events.
WORSENING CONDITIONS!Photo: Leon Rusk.
BIRDS SEEN: Moorhen, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Lapwing, Cormorant, Heron, Mallard, Teal, Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Little Grebe, Pochard, Wigeon, Wren, Blue Tit, Reed Bunting, Great Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Gadwall, Stock Dove, Common Snipe, Redshank, Starling, Blackbird, Water Pipit, Magpie, Goldfinch, Robin, Mute Swan, Green Woodpecker, Feral Pigeon, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Dunnock.
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