Wetlands Wedge

2008-09-17T18:20:00.014+01:00

LAST LATE NIGHT FOR 2008.

Thursday, 11th September 2008.

How this year seems to have so quickly passed us by! It does not seem all that long ago since the Late Opening evenings were being greeted by the little band of ‘regulars’ that we seem to have the good fortune to meet every week. Although we have not used the bar-b-que area much this year, we really appreciate being able to access the rest of the site for hours after work!

YOUNG SWANS, THE ENTRANCE LAKE

Photo: Reg Norman

Both Leon and I were hoping for something a little ‘special’ this evening, just to mark the end of this particular set of ‘lates’. We were, of course, to be disappointed!Things didn’t look to good when we arrived at the site; there were about ten thousand young kids all lined up and ready to descend, like screeching Harpies, upon the poor, unsuspecting, birdwatching fraternity. Not taking any chances, we elbowed our way to the front, Leon was particularly swift with a few well-placed kicks to the shins and we were in!

NO BIRDS? ACT CASUAL!

Photo: Reg Norman

After getting kitted up in the Observatory we made our way to the Wildside area. There seemed to be absolutely no birds whatsoever in any of the trees. The whole area was deafeningly quiet! No little shapes could be seen to-ing and fro-ing amongst the foliage. There was even a distinct shortage of waterfowl as we scanned the small ponds in the area. Once again we remarked upon the number of flowers that were still to be seen as we made our way around. This was to be true of all the areas that we were to visit today. We eventually reached the Wildside hide, got ourselves comfortable in our usual seats, and settled down for some intense scrutiny of the Grazing Marsh. The whole of this area was now covered in lush grass with some brilliant splashes of colour dotted here and there.

ONE OF THE FEW!

Photo: Reg Norman

There were not many different species of birds to be seen so the session turned into one of observing individuals as they went about their daily business. I quite like this sort of ‘birding’ and once spent several hours, in the dead of winter, watching Coots and their interminable battles.

A LUSH GRAZING MARSH

Photo: Reg Norman

‘There it goes!’ cried Leon. He was right, it had gone! He had just seen a Hobby go careering past the window of the hide; missed by me because I had my bins pointed elsewhere and was too slow to react! ‘It was beautiful!’ he said. I am sure it was.

A VIEW FROM HEADLEY HIDE

Photo: Reg Norman

At this point we were joined a party of about twenty of the young children that we had seen earlier and I feared that my afternoon was about to be ruined with screeching and banging. There was no screeching and banging; in fact Leon controlled his temper very well! It was just as well because you could not have had a more considerate bunch of youngsters; they were extremely well behaved, and, they all spoke Spanish!We moved on, stopping at the Headley hide briefly, making our way to the restaurant, as Leon was hungry. The areas that we were able to see from the Headley hide were almost devoid of birds, although the site looked beautiful bathed in the late afternoon sunshine. I noticed that the Kingfisher bank was all but invisible behind lush vegetation. I wondered if they would be clearing it for next year?

THE KINGFISHER BANK. HONEST!

Photo: Reg Norman

Everywhere that we went now there were groups of impeccably behaved children, amazingly they all spoke Spanish as well!
Moving through ‘Waterlife’ it was the same story as for the rest of the site, almost devoid of any bird noises or small movements among the shrubs and bushes. Leon commented that he thought that this was probably the quietest day that he could remember at Barnes. I had to agree with him. Still, it was lovely walking around on such a beautiful day.There was something amusing as we passed the bird feeders; a Heron was perched on the top of one of them! It looked so out of place even though it was a bird on a feeder. It brought a smile to our faces, there seemed to be no birds in places that they should be, and, a bird where it shouldn’t be!

SEED LOVING HERON?

Photo: Leon Rusk

The walk around the Sheltered Lagoon was disappointing; usually you could count on seeing many small birds in this area but today there was next to nothing! As we finished our walk, near the Wader Scrape hide, we caught up with one of our friends. Thereze is the wife of John the chap that we have started visiting places with. This lady has a good knowledge of all things natural (she had been studying a very large slug as we approached) and it is always a pleasure to chat with her. We discussed the lack of any real sign of birds to which she wholly agreed although she did point out that there seemed to be a Tit flock in the area.

THE GHOSTLY QUIET LAGOON WALK

Photo: Reg Norman

Our friend moved off, to meet John in the Peacock Tower, and Leon and I made tracks for the ‘Scrape hide. The Tit flock appeared to be approaching at quite a speed as their sounds started to fill the air. We estimated that there were at least seventy birds in the flock, not only the Tits but Warblers and Finches as well! They were like a small cloud moving through the vegetation, all intent on having a good time or so it appeared! My favourites, as usual, were the Long Tails; I never tire of watching them because they always seem to be full of the love of life. We watched for what seemed like ages and loved every minute of it, probably appreciating the sight more for the lack of anything earlier on. We had tried to call Thereze to see the birds but she was already gone. To cap it all, whilst we were watching the birds a young fox had crept up behind us; she missed that as well! After a quick visit to the ‘Scrape hide we moved on to the Peacock Tower.

ONE OF THE YOUNG FOXES

Photo; Reg Norman

We were pleased to meet up with John once again and were also glad to see that another friend of ours, Philip, was also there for the last late day. We told our friend what she had missed and she motioned us to look towards the Sand Martin Bank where we could see a young fox sitting in, and enjoying, the sunshine!Although, once again, there was not a great deal to be seen, we stayed for quite a time enjoying the company. There were, in fact, quite a few ‘birders’ in the hide and they all seemed to be determined to make this last ‘late’ a good one. Many ‘birding’ stories were being swapped and, generally, a good time was had by all. As the light faded people started to drift away; as we left Leon reminded us that it was this day, last year, that we had stood outside the Peacock tower and watched a family of Hobbies chasing Sand Martins! It seemed like that happened only a few weeks ago!

THE GANG

Photo: Reg Norman

The bar-b-que appeared to be doing a good trade as we left; Leon and I were going to the ‘office’ and most of the others made their way into the restaurant for a well-earned cuppa! We said our ‘goodbyes’ and ‘hope to see each other soons’ although in our case it would only be a couple of days as we had made arrangements to go to Dungeness and its’ surrounding areas with John next Sunday!

SOME PEOPLE HAVE NO RESPECT!

Photo; Reg Norman

The ‘office’ was warm and welcoming, as usual, and we stayed for a while reminiscing and planning. A lot of our time seems to be like that, well spent.

OFFICE FLOWERS

Photo: Reg Norman

BIRDS SEEN: Canada Goose, Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Feral Pigeon, Cormorant, Lapwing, Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Egyptian Goose, Little Grebe, Magpie, Hobby, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Heron, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Lesser Whitethroat, Sand Martin, Teal, Ruff, Swallow, Great Crested Grebe, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, House Martin, Green Woodpecker, Redshank.

2008-09-06T19:29:00.006+01:00

LATE NIGHT AT BARNES.

Thursday, 4th September 2008.

Some of our favourite times that we have spent at the Wetland Centre have been whilst attending the ‘late opening’ nights during the summer months. We usually travel down directly from work and so manage to get there fairly early. One can normally smell the bar-b-que before you enter the Visitor Centre; the food is well cooked and is already in preparation for the early participants. We stopped in the Observatory to kit up and were pleased to see a Ruddy Duck; the colour of his bill was almost fluorescent blue; absolutely stunning!You have to choose the way in which you traverse the site as the light changes with the weeks. Towards the end of the summer you need to visit the Peacock Tower as soon as you arrive in the afternoon; if you leave it too late the sun is setting in the west and it is impossible to see anything on the Main Lake!

A 'WILDLIFE' POND.

Photo: Reg Norman

Today we got it wrong. We had looked at the notice board on the way in and had decided to go to the Wildside area for the chance of seeing certain birds. We never saw them (in fact we saw very little) although we could hear a large Tit flock moving around in the undergrowth. Every now and then we would get the most fleeting of glimpses of a tiny bird, but it was usually gone before we could identify it! This is, of course, usual for this time of year; there is so much cover and the birds, more often than not, only make ‘contact’ calls as they move about. One of the benches provided an ideal spot to rest our work-weary bones whilst we scanned the bushes and shrubs; we were not to be entertained by our little friends though!As we moved around the Wildside area, the sheer number of flowers that were still providing a wonderful show quite surprised us both. Combined with the bunches of berries on the trees and shrubs, and, some of the first leaves already taking on their autumn hues, the site was really very colourful. Amongst these flowers there moved (although fairly blustery) a number of different butterflies adding their different brilliant shades to the picture. We supposed that they were still much in evidence as the weather, although a little windy, was quite warm.

ANOTHER 'WILDLIFE' POND!

Photo: Reg Norman

It became quite sunny as we reached the Wildside Hide; in fact it made the interior feel a little chilly by contrast. We took up our favourite seats at the western end of the upper floor; the view here being the best by far as it covers such a wide area. We noticed that a Little grebe had a very small chick, not the first that we had seen today. There seemed to be an abundance of small birds dotted on the water about the site. I suppose that the birds will keep trying to get off as many offspring as they can in any one year. The Moorhens can rely on the youngsters from previous broods to help out with the rearing of the later ones, which must be a real bonus.Leaving the Wildside Hide, we made our way back towards the Visitor Centre, stopping briefly at the Headley Hide. The vegetation adjacent to this hide is (quite rightly) very well grown and obscures large areas of the Main Lake so we were not too disappointed not to see very much. We did manage to get some very good views of the (ever growing) number of Cormorants; swimming underwater quite closely, we were able to observe them!

THE SHELTERD LAKE

Photo: Reg Norman

Seared chicken. As we passed through the Visitor Centre and out onto the bar-b-que area the air was filled with its’ aroma. There were other meats as well, all smelling as tempting as could be. Roasted vegetables were also in evidence; the whole providing the prospect of a lovely meal for the diners. I mentioned that I had not seen much salad in evidence but Leon assured me that the chef had piles!
The Dulverton and WWF hides were our next objectives. Hoping to see any waders that may have arrived, we were not disappointed as we saw, briefly, a Redshank; a little unusual for this time of year. Having visited these hides for a short while we moved on the Sheltered Lagoon walk, hoping to see more of the smaller birds that we knew favoured this area.As we moved around the walk we became surrounded by a huge flock of tits, finches and warblers. We just had to stop and watch their antics; rolling around through the trees, all the while filling the air with their contact calls. The Long Tailed Tits were the most confiding, they came right to the very edge of the vegetation where they practiced their acrobatics. This was not the first time we had been treated to such a wonderful show by these beautiful birds and it never ceases to thrill.

THE PENULTIMATE OXEYE DAISY?

Photo: Reg Norman

Very little was to be seen from the Wader Scrape hide; although the water level was not too bad their just seemed to be a shortage of birds, although there were good numbers of Gadwall and Teal with a few Wigeon thrown in for good measure.
Having moved to the Peacock Tower, the first thing that was pointed out to us by one of its’ occupants was a Little Egret; he was on the Wader Scrape and we had been unable to see him because of the vegetation! It was here too that we caught up with our friend, John Cass. He informed us that he had not seen much but that there had been a Wheatear about earlier in the day. This had been one of the birds that we had hoped to see from the Wildside hide when we first arrived.
Looking across the Main Lake we remembered why should have come here earlier; the sun had moved round to the west and now made any observing quite difficult. This did not stop a sharp-eyed chap from noticing a bird by one of the island shores, and, not being sure what it was he asked for a general opinion. Taking turns in looking through telescopes we al agreed: Ruff. We didn’t agree on its’ development at first but after some discussion we all agreed that it was an adult ‘winter’ bird.
The differences in bird plumage, amongst even a single species, at different times of the year can be quite astonishing. Leon thought that this might be the time to go to ‘the office’ to discuss the matter and so we made our farewells. Passing through the bar-b-que area we noticed that there seemed to be good trade taking place; the food smelled even more wonderful and everybody seemed to be having a great time.

FLOWERS AT THE OFFICE

Photo: Reg Norman

We did not stay at ‘the office’ for very long; being a Thursday we both had to go to work the following day. We did discuss many things though, including the fact that there was always a fabulous show of flowers on the bar where we usually sit of an evening.

BIRDS SEEN: Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Feral Pigeon, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Gadwall, Shoveller, herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Heron, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Wood pigeon, Greenfinch, Dunnock, House Martin, Starling, Crow, Magpie, Lapwing, Kestrel, Ring Necked Parakeet, Jackdaw, redshank, Teal, Sand Martin, Blackbird, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Canada Goose, Little Egret, Swallow, Ruff, Green Woodpecker, Lesser Black Backed Gull.

2008-08-07T23:30:00.003+01:00

GOOD TO BE BACK.

Well, it has been over a year since I last posted here. Unfortunately, due to family circumstances and work related problems, I have had neither the time or the opportunity to keep the blog up to date. This culminated in the death of my lovely little brother, Dave, so it has been a very hard and a very sad time for all of the family.

Leon and I have been going 'birding' again with some friends (thanks guys!) and i now feel that I can once again devote some time here.

Terry and Liz have moved back up to Yorkshire, in the middle of some lovely 'birding' country and we have been lucky enough to have visited them. we hope to go again (if they'll have us!) and should we do so we will post here with plenty of pictures.

All the very best,

Reg and Leon.

2007-05-08T16:25:00.000+01:00

29th APRIL 2007.

A MOST UNEXPECTED VISITOR.

Arriving directly from the Lonsdale Road LNR, we were still chattering about the Tawny Owl that we had been lucky enough to have seen. We were, in fact, quite early even for us. Leon popped off to ‘make himself comfortable’ and I took up station at the Entrance Lake. This a much overlooked part of the site and we often sit here for a while before entering the main site. As I sat and watched, a Song Thrush appeared on the bank farthest away from me; I was able to watch it for some time, quartering the area in its’ search for food. It flew off suddenly when a large group of Starlings took fright and then flight!
Entering the site proper, we came upon our friend Terry who was working as a volunteer for the day. We told him all about the owl that we had seen and the progress that the Sparrowhawks had made He informed us that the Gargeney that we had hoped to see had not been spotted at all that day. We moved into the Observatory.

TERRY, IN FULL WORKING ORDER!

Photo; Leon Rusk.

The weather, as promised, was beautiful; the sky was now clear and blue, a soft breeze blew and refreshed us. The light was very good and so we made the most of it scanning the site. Neil, one of the chaps who has taken Leon and I on a walk before, came in and we told him about the owl and the Sparrowhawks. He said that he would try to get down to see them tomorrow. He also told us some stories of Herons and their nesting habits, as usual; it was good to hear one of the experts talking.
We followed our usual route around the site, visiting the Wildside area and hide first and seeing quite a few small birds. The Reed and Sedge Warblers are really starting to dominate the air with their rasping songs. We could often see them flitting from one reedbed to another.
Having started so early again, we were quite hungry and decided that we should not miss breakfast. On the way back to the restaurant we poked our heads into the Headley hide for a few moments. There were a few large gulls to be seen but no Black-Headed ones. I said that I would have a proper look a little later on; I needed to take my time as the birds are now changing so rapidly I get confused if I rush! The other area of interest, the island between the hide and the Observatory, could not be viewed properly because the sun was in the wrong position. On second thoughts, perhaps it was us that were in the wrong position.

THE GRAZING MARSH, NEARLY DRY!

Photo; Leon Rusk.

Whilst we had our breakfast Terry joined us to snatch a quick cup of coffee; he needed this because he was about to take over at …… Explore! He only stayed a very short while and, after making us promise to ‘phone him with any news about anything ‘good’, moved off to meet his doom. The man deserves a medal!
Breakfast finished, we made our way into the Waterlife area. A Grey Wagtail had been seen here earlier but had now, obviously, moved on. As we walked along we wee still talking about the owl and the Sparrowhawks from earlier in the day. We thought that we couldn’t see anything to top those today, but, we were wrong!
Just before reaching the Dulverton hide, Leon asked what all the commotion was and why the crowd? We were soon to find out! We new it must be something out of the ordinary because two of the resident experts, Rupert and Dan, were laughing. “What is it?” inquired Leon. “A Pelican!” came the answer. I looked around for the cameras but saw none; I wasn’t going to appear on ‘Candid Camera’! We followed the direction that everybody was looking in and …. there it was! A Great White Pelican, no less! It was huge, it looked like a flying door! The bird, brilliant white with black edges to its’ wings, soared around the site. It really made flight look elegant and effortless. The chaps thought that it might be the bird that was resident at St James’ Park ding its’ spring fly about. Leon quickly ‘phoned Terry and told him to get over to the Dulverton hide to see a Pelican. I wonder if he looked about for cameras. Quite a good crowd gathered to see the bird, most of whom I would think were impressed.

THE SCRAPE: STILL DEEP ENOUGH FOR SWANS

Photo: Leon Rusk.

As the bird moved away, so did we; after saying thanks for the ‘heads-up’. We continued making our way around the site in our usual fashion; moving next to the feeder area, which was almost deserted apart from a rat, and then on to the Wader Scrape hide by way of the Sheltered Lagoon. It had gone fairly quiet as we moved around, although we had seen so much it hardly seemed to matter!
We met up with Philip in the Scrape hide; he hadn’t seen the Pelican and we decided to swap ‘phone numbers so that we might keep each other informed of anything interesting in the future.
Having moved on to the peacock Tower, the quiet seemed to have reached all parts of the site. We could see the Little Ringed Plover quite well and we had some cracking views of the Sedge Warbler that has taken up residence in the reeds just outside of the tower itself. Just like last Friday he was singing his little heart out.

MORE POTENTIAL HERON FOOD

Photo; Leon Rusk.

We visited the WWF hide and then made our way to say farewell to Terry. I told him that I would probably not stay at ‘the office’ very long and might even return to see if anything else turned up. In the end though, sue turned up and we stayed a little longer than planned!

BIRDS SEEN: Coot, Moorhen, Magpie, Canada Goose, Starling, Swift, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Reed Bunting, Mallard, Common Sandpiper, Heron, Wood Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Common Tern, House Martin, Sand Martin, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Kestrel, Wren, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Little Grebe, Blackcap, Ring Necked Parakeet, Wren, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Reed Warbler, Pochard, Ruddy Duck, Great White Pelican, Sedge Warbler, Greylag Goose, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Shelduck, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Common Snipe, Green Woodpecker.

2007-04-28T16:53:00.000+01:00

27th APRIL 2007.

RESCHEDULED REPTILE WALK. (100th Blog entry!!!!)

Tim was waiting for us when we reached WWT Barnes; a pleasant surprise as he was not supposed to be there until about ten o’clock! The other pleasant surprise was that the yellow Flag Iris were blooming on the Entrance Lake. Leon and I had been to the Leg O’Mutton LNR earlier to see the Sparrowhawks and had had quite a good morning. The weather was not as good as we had been told it would be; it was quite chilly and there was a bit of a breeze. I had, in fact, had to put my fleece on to keep out the chill!

A NICE SURPRISE, FIRST FLAGS 2007

Photo: Reg Norman

Making our way inside we went straight to the restaurant to get a hot drink and to talk about the possibility of the Reptile Walk being cancelled. We had been here a month ago and the weather was just like todays’ although it was not raining.
It was still chilly and a bit breezy when we left the restaurant although Tim and I thought that it seemed a little brighter. We popped into the Observatory for a quick ‘scan’ of the area; there were quite a few bids to be seen. We didn’t stay long as there was a school group present and we needed to ‘lose’ them!

'OLD CHARLIES' LEFTOVERS!

Photo; Reg Norman

Making our way to the Wildside area we were a little dismayed to find that there was very little birdsong and even fewer birds! This improved a little when we stared walking around the Summer Walk; there were certainly plenty of warblers around. They had arrived at last and jolly pleased we were to hear them! We had a go at teaching Tim the difference between Reed and Sedge warblers; I think that he got it!
From the Wildside hide I was pleased to see that the Cowslips on the Thames-side bank were still in flower; a sight that never disappoints me. We could see the warblers in the reedbeds flitting from place to place, their song increasing in volume all the time. Whilst we were at the hide the site office ‘phoned to say that the Reptile Walk had been cancelled due to the cold weather! Although a little disappointed again we could understand the reason for calling it off. Tim ventured that the weather would now improve dramatically.

A COOT FAMILY OUTING

Photo: Reg Norman

We moved on to the Waterlife area, stopping briefly at the Headley hide, to see if our luck would improve. On the way we were treated to some great views of a Kestrel hunting over the Main Lake boundary. In the short time that it took to reach the Waterlife area the weather had improved dramatically! The wind had dropped somewhat and the sky had lightened. The sun even managed to poke its’ face through the clouds every now and then!
Lots of spring flowers had started to flower; I pointed out Ragged Robin and Leon found Ox-eye Daisy for Tim. It will not be long before the daisies will blanket the Grazing Marsh borders.

FIRST OXEYE DAISIES 2007

Photo: Reg Norman

There were only a few birds at the feeder; we saw the Brown Rat (he seems to have an injured / deformed back leg) which made Tims’ blood run cold! He is not keen to say the least!
The Sheltered Lagoon walk was very quiet; you can usually guarantee some good sights along here, perhaps the weather was keeping the bids quiet. We walked along, slowly and quietly but saw very little. As we reached the Wader Scrape hide Tim and I saw a Blackcap; it was there one second, gone the next!
Inside the hide it was quite busy; people had obviously come specifically to see the Little Ringed Plovers. There was only one on show; sitting on a nest under a wire ‘crow-stopper’. One of the people kindly let me have a look through his ‘scope at the bird.
There was a nice group of people in the peacock Tower; I believe they may have been a visiting ‘birding’ group. They all seemed very knowledgeable and were keen to help everybody else to find different birds.
We had stunning views of a Sedge Warbler; he was sat on the edge of some reeds, singing his heart out. Everybody in the hide was entranced.

FIRST ARUM LILIES 2007

Photo: Reg Norman

We had had an interesting day and as it seemed that we were destined not to see too much more we made our way out of the centre and on to ‘the office’. It was now a glorious afternoon blue skies and the sun beating down!

BIRDS SEEN: Wren, Canada Goose, Coot, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, House Martin, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Sand Martin, Wood Pigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Lapwing, Robin, Pochard, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Starling, Mute Swan, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Ruddy Duck, Greylag Goose, Swift, Kestrel, Cormorant, Redshank, Stock Dove, Magpie, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Gadwall, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Blackcap, Sparrowhawk, Great Black Backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Green Woodpecker, Ring Necked Parakeet, Blue Tit, great Tit, Coal Tit.

2007-04-24T23:55:00.000+01:00

22nd APRIL 2007.

OLD FRIENDS, A NEW FREIND, KITES AND TERNS.

Leon and I had spent the first part of the day at the Lonsdale Road LNR; a great way to start the day in anyones’ book! The weather continued to be as good as one could want this early in the year and I was glad that I had packed a cap ‘just in case’.
We popped into the Observatory to ‘kit-up’ and were immediately struck by the number of bids on view; this looked promising! In fact one of the first birds that we spotted was a Reed Warbler, a first for the year here. You could, in fact, hear them (along with Sedge Warblers) from different areas but it was to be the only sighting of the day.

SNEAKING UP ON DUCKLINGS!

Photo: Leon Rusk.

In the lower section of the Observatory we spotted our friends Terry and Liz so we went down to meet up with them. They gave us a few details of their birdwatching holiday to Slimbridge, the Forest of Dean and the surrounding area. We were to hear more during the day; I must say that I did feel a little envious! We were also joined here by Philip, one of our ‘regular’ friends. He had just poked his nose in for a quick look before moving off to the Peacock Tower.
All four of us went into the restaurant where we enjoyed breakfast although Liz did not eat anything, just a coffee. Whilst we ate we were serenaded by the Marsh Frogs in the pond just outside.
Having eaten we made our way to the Wildside, by way of the Log Cabin area, which would have been our normal start to the day. As we moved off somebody pointed out some soaring shapes in the sky. Red Kites! We watched these beautiful birds for some time; they just seemed to be ‘hanging’ in the air! There were, by all accounts, three birds but I could only see two! We saw many Finches and Tits as we moved along; many were starting to sing extremely well. Everywhere the spring flowers were starting to bloom and I was particularly pleased to see the Guelder Rose starting to show. The Marsh Frogs were kicking up quite a racket but fortunately there were enough ‘little darlings’ about to drown them out!

GUELDER ROSE, SURE SIGN OF SPRING

Photo: Reg Norman

Whilst walking around the Summer Walk, just before the Wildside hide, we were to get some fabulous views of a Blackcap. Then another, with beakfulls of nesting material. This second was particularly accommodating; it sat well for some time. To make sure it moved off, Terry took out his camera and as he was trying to set up for the shot, it moved off!
Into the Wildside hide we went and looked for the warblers that we could hear in the nearby reedbeds. You could occasionally make out their darting forms but could not make a positive id from where we were. Terry commented on the number of crows on the site, about sixty at that time. I told him that the week before I had counted upwards of one hundred and fifty, including those in the boundary trees! “Ought to shoot’em” said Terry. Now, why on earth would anyone want to shoot the boundary trees? Perhaps the noise frightens the crows off!
Time was getting on and so we moved back towards the Centre; stopping at the Headley hide briefly on the way. We also stopped, once more, at the restaurant as we all needed a drink. We sat outside in the sunshine and listened to the now cacophony of the Marsh Frogs. Terry quickly whipped out his camera and did some digiscoping of the frogs. The results were very pleasing; the practice whilst he was away obviously paying off!

CRACKING FIRST SHOT OF FROG

Photo: Terry Burton

The feeder station was our next port of call, stopping only very briefly at the Dulverton hide. There was not much to be seen; perhaps a mixture of being there late again and the heat. There were some pigeons that were joined by a rat that almost ran among us! Philip joined us once again on his way to the restaurant; he had news of the Little Ringed Plovers.
As Philip was about to move off, another young man approached and was promptly introduced to us by Terry and Liz. Mike Beard had met the two of them some time before and they had gotten onto the subject of this blog. Mike, it appears, is an avid reader of this diary (which in itself shows great taste!) and was immediately popular for his appreciation of the good things in life! Mike was to join us for the rest of the day and jolly nice it was too. I am sure that we shall meet up again soon; I certainly hope so.

ONE WAY OF KEEPING COOL!

Photo: Leon Rusk.

The heat, as we walked around the Sheltered Lagoon walk, rendered the use of ‘scope and binoculars almost useless due to the heat haze. There were, however, plenty of small birds moving about in the shade.
I, for one, was actually glad to get into the Wader Scrape hide as this gave us a chance to get out of the sun and to cool down a little. We could not see the Little Ringed Plovers but we had some fine views of Lapwing sat upon their nests. A Common Snipe also emerged and started to feed along one of the muddy banks. We were joined by a couple of ladies who were obviously just starting out ‘birding’ and so we got great pleasure in pointing things out for them; Terry and Mike both allowing them to have ‘peeks’ through their ‘scopes.
We moved on to the Peacock Tower, stopping on the way to look for warblers, where the LRP’s were pointed out to us. We could also get even better views of the Snipe as it continued to feed along the shoreline.
Earlier in the afternoon we had had some quick glimpses of a couple of Common Terns; now we could see them properly as they wheeled, spectacularly, around the Main Lake and beyond.
We stayed at he Tower for a good time before deciding to move back to the Centre and then on to ‘the office’. We said our goodbyes to Mike and made our way, via the WWF hide for a ‘quickie’, homewards.

WHO'S WATCHING WHO?

Photo; Terry Burton.

Before leaving we suggested to Terry that he might like to go to the Lonsdale Road LNR before starting his duties next weekend. He should be able to get some good shots of the Sparrowhawk nest and the Herons on their rafts! I will cal for confirmation during he week and will hopefully contact Mike on the ‘BirdForum’ site to see if he fancies an early start.

BIRDS SEEN: Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Wren, Moorhen, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, Mallard, Lapwing, Green Woodpecker, Great Crested Grebe, Starling, Redshank, Heron, Wood Pigeon, Sand Martin, Reed Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Stock Dove, Dunnock, Common Tern, Red Kite, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Cormorant, Ring Necked Parakeet, Swift, Reed Bunting, Long Tailed tit, Blackcap, Robin, Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Ruddy Duck, Pied Wagtail. Kestrel, feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Common Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Egyptian Goose, great Black Backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Blackbird, Shoveller, House Martin, Sedge Warbler, Coal Tit, Coot, Pochard.

2007-04-24T22:50:00.000+01:00

14th APRIL 2007.

ARRIVALS ARRIVING!

We arrived at the Centre today having already had a lovely early-morning walk in Richmond Park. We had met at about seven o’clock and walked the short journey to the park. The weather was beautiful and the park had been busy even at that early hour. We were beginning to feel the heat even as we arrived; the coffee at breakfast would be well appreciated!

NEW LIFE EVERYWHERE

Photo; Leon Rusk.

Being here on a Saturday was strange, but Leon had to work on the following day so we made the best of both being off. The day may have changed but the plan for the walk about the site had not. We would start at the Observatory which would enable us to kit-up and scan the site in comfort. As we walked towards the Observatory we saw our first Swift of the year; I thought for a moment that it was going to join us in the building it came so low! Then it was gone. We would not see another today.
Having got ready in the Observatory and the time getting on, we decided to have breakfast before moving on anywhere. Just as we started on our meal, some of the ‘regulars’ who were sat outside in the sunshine, got up and started scanning the sky over the Visitor Centre. We, of course, moved out to join them to see what was of interest. Here was a raptor high in the sky; everybody was hoping that it was the Goshawk that had been reported in the area a couple of times recently. It was not to be; we were watching a female Sparrowhawk.
After finishing our meal we moved off toward the Wildside area all the while enjoying the lovely weather. We were also enjoying the relative quiet as there seemed to be very few ‘little darlings’ in attendance! The Marsh Frogs were trying to make up for them though! The newly-arrived Sand Martins were all over the site; their twittering filling the air. It was good to have them back but when scanning an area they can lead yours eyes away as they flash past!

THE MULTIPLYING CROWS

Photo; Leon Rusk.

We could hear a Blackcap singing in the bushes and shrubs along the Castlenau bank but were unable to see it until it broke cover, did a ‘victory roll’ and vanished over the boundary!
From the Wildside hide we had lots of ducks and waterfowl to watch but, there appeared to be no Teal or Wigeon around at all. There was one bird of interest; a hybrid of Ring Necked Duck x Tufted Duck. We had seen this bird on several occasions before, pointed out by an eminent ‘birder’ who takes some of the ‘event’ walks.
We missed out the Headley hide, only because of the time, and made our way to the Waterlife area. The feeders were not very busy; we decided that we were there too late and that the birds had all had their breakfast and were now resting. Perhaps they were saving themselves for the coming courtship and mating rituals.
The Sheltered Lagoon walk, too, was fairly quiet although we did see a Chiffchaff and heard more of the same. We also had three House Martins above us for the briefest of time; I believe they went off to play with the Sand Martins!
The Wader Scrape hide was very quiet too; the Snipe must have been sheltering from the sun rather than the wind this week!

FRITTILARY MEADOW STILL BEAUTIFUL

Photo: Leon Rusk.

It was good to see the ‘regulars’ in the Peacock Tower; no sooner had we arrived than we were shown some Little Ringed Plovers (not visible from the WS hide) and a Wheatear out on the Grazing Marsh. The Wheatear was particularly amenable and stayed out in clear view for quite some time.
There were no Black Headed Gulls on view; this surprised me as there were a few other species in small numbers. We stayed for a while, watching the birds and chatting amongst our friends, and just as we left for ‘the office’ a couple of Black Heads came down by the Headley hide. It had gone quiet and so we moved off.

BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Starling, Blue Tit, Heron, Mallard, Coot, Great Tit, Pied Wagtail, Swift, Egyptian Goose, Lapwing, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Wood Pigeon, Moorhen, Redshank, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Pochard, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Sparrowhawk, Wren, Magpie, Greylag Goose, Sand Martin, Ruddy Duck, Blackcap, Gadwall, Little Ringed Plover, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting, Wheatear, Great Black Backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Black Headed Gull, Shoveller, House Martin, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff.

2007-04-23T17:15:00.000+01:00

6th APRIL 2007.

THE LONE GOOD FRIDAY. (By Leon Rusk)

Good Friday, a day off, Reg works Bank Holidays so I go on my own to the Wetland Centre.
I popped up the road to the hospital to meet Reg and see the gutted look on his face as I was and he wasn’t, if you get me! Queen Marys’, Roehampton, is where we ply our trade Monday to Friday. I am a brain surgeon and Reg, well, looking for a donor! I am on call 24/7 so if there is anyone out there!
Anyway, back on planet Earth, I just went to say ’hello’ and pick up my camera. I arrived a bit late at the WWT; Reg locked me in a storeroom because of the smug look on my face!
Phew! Out! Got there at 10:15, that’ll teach me! As is our way, I checked the birds upon entering the site, always nice; there was a Heron on the Entrance Pond and, nearby, some Mallard ducklings. Victims to be I am afraid!

MALLARD DUCKLINGS

Photo: Leon Rusk.

In and off to the Observatory. Again the usual but nothing that I was hoping to see. From there I went on our tried and trusted route.
The day was mild and sunny so I was hoping to see a few new arrivals. Boy, was that hope shot to pieces!

THE LOG CABIN AREA

Photo; Sue Blair.

Off to the conifers by the log cabin to maybe see the Goldcrest and more lbj’s, but, again, not much was showing. From there I headed to the Wildside and moved around the banking where I was rewarded with a lovely view of a Chiffchaff at the top of a tree. As Reg would have told you, once you get familiar with the call, it does help with spotting the bird. On to the Summer Walk, not much happening, at least not while I was passing through. A few butterflies, but then again, too few to mention, I went on my way (sorry!) getting nearer to the Wildside hide I was to find a dead rat, just off the path, not welcome! Our mate Tim would be pleased, he hates rats!

FIRST IN A COLLECTION OF DEAD RAT PHOTOS!

Photo; Leon Rusk.

Reached the hide and, again, quiet; maybe it was me and my crap timing! I then decided to go to the other side of the centre, on my way passing quite a few of Regs’ favourite small people.
Once again, apart from seeing the few remaining Teal and Wigeon which was nice, nothing to get me, apart from the fact of being at the wetlands. The birdfeeder was exceptionally quiet and so I went on around the Lagoon, stopping at a bench to listen to the song.

THR FRITTILARY MEADOW

Photo; Sue Blair.

From there, on to the Wader Scrape hide. Zilch! Near enough by then, sun over the yardarm sort of thing, I ‘phoned our mate, Tim, to see what he was doing. Tim tells me that he is on Wimbledon Common with his granddaughter, Sadie, walking the dog. So, I arranged to meet him in ‘the office’, 12:30ish.
I quickly check the Peacock Tower but whatever as happened I’ve seemed to miss it. Wrong place, wrong time I guess. I leave the wetlands, a bit disappointed, but it’s always a special place.
I reach ‘the office’ at 12:40 to find Tim and Sadie already there, Lush!
Mmmm… chi Doh! Mmmmmmmm…… beer!

SPRING BLOSSOM

Photo: Sue Blair.

BIRDS SEEN: Wood Pigeon, Greenfinch, Coot, Carrion Crow, Moorhen, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Teal, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Heron, Egyptian Goose, Robin, Chiffchaff, Wren, Blackbird, Greylag Goose, Little Grebe, Wigeon, Gadwall, Starling, Sand Martin, Blue Tit, Reed Bunting, House Sparrow, Magpie, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Ring Necked Parakeet, Goldfinch, Shoveller, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Pochard, Redshank, Stock Dove.

2007-04-23T16:12:00.000+01:00

1st APRIL 2007.

SHORT REPORT DUE TO LOST NOTES!

I am not quite sure how I did it but I seem to have lost my short notes for todays’ report. Some unkind people might say that it had something to do with my going to the Half Moon in Putney to celebrate Fulhams’ draw with Pompey with some chaps from work. Some put it down to the fact that I went back to said pub to watch the Hamsters at said pub later in the evening. I just put it down to plain old bad luck! It must follow, then, that this will be a very short report.

CANADA GEESE OUTSIDE THE WILDSIDE HIDE

Photo; Leon Rusk.

Arriving at the Centre we first made our way to the Observatory. Within seconds I had incorrectly identified two Egyptian Geese as Canadians. I remember that Leon did a lot of giggling during the whole morning. I remember little else although I did feel much better after visiting ‘the office’!

COOT CHICKS, WATERLIFE

Photo; Leon Rusk.

BIRDS SEEN: Egyptian Goose, Starling, Wren, Blackbird, Coot, Moorhen, Wood Pigeon, Mallard, Canada Goose, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Lapwing, Teal, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Heron, Feral Pigeon, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Magpie, Chiffchaff, Redshank, Jack Snipe, Greylag Goose, Carrion Crow, Wigeon, Kestrel, Reed Bunting, Coal Tit Ring Necked Parakeet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Long Tailed Tit, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Sand Martin, Great Black Backed Gull, , Lesser Black Backed Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Jackdaw, Herring Gull, Common Snipe, Black Headed Gull.

2007-04-22T21:57:00.000+01:00

30th MARCH 2007.

SNAKES ALIVE!

Today was to be a little different in that we had booked for one of the events that have been organised by the Centre. It was a reptile Walk day and both Leon and I were looking forward to it immensely. We were also to be joined by one of our best friends, Tim, who also works with us.
The weather had been promised to be warm and sunny but had deteriorated over the previous few days and we were not sure that the walk would be going ahead It was very cold and there was rain in the air; not a promising start when hoping to see reptiles. Still, the walk was not until early afternoon and so it might just cheer up a bit!

LIGHT IN THE DARK.

Photo; Leon Rusk.

Leon and I turned up at the usual time in order to get some early ’birding’ in. Tim was coming along a little later and I had brought my spare glasses with me so that he might get the best out of the day.
Although cold and miserable there were quite a few birds out and about as we watched from the Observatory. We had decided to wait around in this area as Tim would be not long behind us. It was soon time to meet him in the Visitor Centre and we started ‘proper’ birding just after ten o’clock.
Tim got into the whole thing very quickly and seemed very interested in the different kinds of birds, their habits and their habitat. He also asked lots of good questions which made it very enjoyable.
We did the tour of the site in our usual fashion, taking in as much of the site as we could. On the way to the Wildside hide we pointed out a Chiffchaff singing to Tim. He listened intently but we did not see the bird. At the hide we spent a fair time scanning the area as there were plenty of birds about; again Tim showed great interest in everything about us.
We made our way back towards the Headley hide after a while and on the way back Tim recognised the Chiffchaff song and where it was coming from. The next minute he had seen it and pointed it out to us! Not bad for his first real day out ‘birding’!
At the Headley hide there was a good showing of Cormorants on the rafts and feeding in the water. We could also watch some of the different ducks feeding quite close up; we were able to show Tim the different feeding strategies of some of the species on view.

TIM AND REG, THE WILDSIDE.

Photo: Leon Rusk.

Coffee was next on the agenda. It is a shame that you cannot get a hot breakfast at the Centre on weekdays as all three of us could have polished a large one off!
Although Tim had been to the Centre before this was his first ’real’ outing and moving into the Waterlife area we could show him some more habitats up close. He was particularly surprised by the number of small birds at the feeder station. We also spotted a Kestrel hunting over the site; it stopped at fairly regular intervals to hover.
We next took a leisurely walk around the Sheltered Lagoon, hoping to pick up some early migrants but were unlucky. There were lots of small birds about and once again Tim picked out a Chiffchaff. Some people love to show off! He saw it first as well.
Reaching the Wader Scrape hide we were glad to get in out of the weather which seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. There were not many birds out on the water but at least there were a few Teal, Wigeon and Gadwall. We did not stay long and soon moved to the peacock Tower.

GLOOMY DAY AT WWF HIDE!

Photo; Leon Rusk.

The Tower was not very productive either; the weather was just not on our side today! Tim was at least able to see a Common buzzard, briefly wheeling over the Visitor Centre. We had a good look around, covering just about every nook and cranny that we could find. Leon was soon on to us about moving back to the Centre to meet our guide for the Reptile Walk. As we made our way back, not really thinking that we would see much as most snakes would be well hidden and warm, unlike some people, we were rewarded with some more excellent views of the Buzzard again. It was a little closer and lower than before so that we were able to get some quite good views. I just hope that Tim doesn’t think that it happens like this all of the time!

BRIGHTENING UP A MISERABLE DAY!

Photo: Leon Rusk.

Our guide introduced himself as Andy and immediately ventured that we might not see very much due to the adverse weather conditions. We replied that we thought that the walk would have been called off anyway. Undaunted, Andy led us off to have a look around and pointed out places where one could see snakes sunning themselves (weather permitting!) and other places of interest. He led us up onto the southern bank and proceeded to lift many of the shelters that have been left around to encourage the snakes. None contained anything but slugs; others did not have slugs which suggested that Slow Worms may have been feasting there!

TIM AND SLOW WORM.

Photo: Leon Rusk.

Not to be defeated, Andy suggested (on our return to the Centre) that we went for coffee, or something stronger, and that he would return home to collect a snake for us to see. I am glad that he did because he brought the most beautiful Corn Snake, from South America, with the name ’Shirley Bassey’! He also brought along a lovely Slow Worm, but I didn’t catch his name! We spent a good long time handling the creatures; all three of us thoroughly entranced. Not only had Andy rescued the day, but we were told that we would be able to come along again on the next Reptile Walk. We will, of course, be going!

REG AND CORN SNAKE.

Photo: Leon Rusk.

Our final port of call for the day was, of course, ‘the office’. We certainly had lots to talk about and so had to stay a little longer than usual. Somebody has to do it

TWO SNAKES!

Photo; Leon Rusk.

BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Coot, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Ring Necked Parakeet, Chaffinch, Wren, Moorhen, Mallard, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Starling, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Tufted Duck, Heron, Cormorant, Feral Pigeon, Mute Swan, Ruddy Duck, Shoveller, Teal, Kestrel, Greylag Goose, Sand Martin, Black Headed Gull, Redshank, Little Grebe, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Robin, Dunnock, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Great Crested Grebe, Chiffchaff, Gadwall, Reed Bunting, Wigeon, Great Black Backed Gull, Common Buzzard, Goldfinch, Coal Tit, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker.

2007-04-22T21:18:00.000+01:00

25th MARCH 2007.

A LOVELY SPRING DAY.

Compared to last week the weather today was excellent! It was very mild and there were some good breaks in the cloud. There was also not much wind to talk of!
We arrived at the Centre at our usual time; this gives us time to enjoy a few minutes at the Entrance Lake and its’ surrounding area. Most people walk straight past this place but we have learned, over the past couple of years, that you can sometimes pickup the odd bird here. We saw our first Fieldfares and Redwings at this place.

FIRST COWSLIPS, 2007!

Photo; Leon Rusk.

As usual, we stopped at the Observatory first to get ourselves properly sorted out. There were quite a few birds about and the prospects for the day looked good. On the way in we had noticed that the House Sparrows were starting to use the purpose-made nest holes in the Centre building; I personally love to hear their ‘cheeping’. We had also bumped into our friend Terry who was once again working as a volunteer. He was on ‘meet and greet’ duties for the first part of the day.
Entering the Wildside area there were many small birds on view; many were singing the little hearts out and most were sporting their courtship finery. From the Wildside hide we could see many birds but the numbers of our winter visitors seemed way down. A Kestrel was to make the first of many sorties over the site, scattering the Lapwings and Starlings; even a few of the smaller gulls went up each time he passed!

THE EAST ASIA RICE PADDY.

Photo: Leon Rusk.

Breakfast was next on the agenda; it is not surprising that we get so hungry, we leave early and the fresh air seems to help! We enjoyed our meal and also watching Terry at his post on the Entrance Bridge!
At the Dulverton hide we were able to see lots of birds but again the numbers of our winter visitors was definitely down. We looked for the Snipe that usually hid in the vegetation just outside the hide but to no avail. We had also been told that there was a Jack Snipe about but didn’t see that either!
We walked along to the feeder area stopping at the Coots’ nest on the way. The little birds were doing well and were paddling about and being fed by their parents. Terry joined us at this point; he was now walking around the site offering help and information to visitors. As we said our hello’s Terry looked up and asked what the bird was, high above us. It was a Common Buzzard; one had been seen several times just recently and here it was displaying well for us! We watched it for a while and it slowly moved off towards the north of the site.

SPRING: BLOSSOM AND BUDS!

Photo: Leon Rusk.

We walked along with Terry for a while, stopping every now and then to answer questions and to look at various things. We could hear Chiffchaffs in the Willow trees and bushes; we were to see them later in the day but Terry didn’t claim one. He knew what one sounded like now and, so armed, would know where to look in future.
The Kestrel was still appearing periodically, putting the more timid birds up into the air every now and then. We had a particularly good view of him from the peacock Tower hovering over the Headley hide and its’ locality. We also got some good views of the Common Snipe of which we saw three.

THE SHELTERED LAGOON WALK.

Photo: Leon Rusk.

The Redshanks now at the site were moving about all over the place; you could track them by their calls and the flash of their wings as they alighted in each new position. I thought that they didn’t seem too interested in pairing up just yet but were concentrating on feeding themselves up for the coming courtship period. Who knows?
As we were making our way back to the Visitor Centre to say our farewells to Terry, we had another fine view of the Buzzard wheeling around in the sky over the Boileau.
We retired to ‘the office’ to discuss the days’ happenings and some of the events for which we have booked our places.

KESTREL : LEON GETS WHOLE BIRD!

Photo: Leon Rusk

BIRDS SEEN: Wood Pigeon, Starling, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Egyptian Goose, Cormorant, Feral Pigeon, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Shoveller, Lapwing, Heron, Pochard, Great Crested Grebe, Pied Wagtail, Kestrel, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Ruddy Duck, Reed Bunting, Sand Martin, Common Buzzard, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Goldfinch, Ring Necked Parakeet, Magpie, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Chiffchaff, Jackdaw, Stock Dove, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Sparrowhawk, Green Woodpecker, Great Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Redshank, Common Snipe, Herring Gull.

2007-04-22T20:36:00.000+01:00

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!

SUNNY, BUT SOOO WINDY!

Photo: Leon Rusk

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!

THE ROBIN HAD MORE SENSE THAN US!

Photo: Leon Rusk

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

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!

SECOND DIGISCOPING ATTEMPT!

Photo: Leon Rusk / Terry Burton

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.

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.

2007-03-06T17:03:00.000Z

4th MARCH 2007.

SURPRISE GUEST AT THE FEEDER!

There had been a change of plan for today. We had originally planned to go to Stokenchurch to see the Red Kites with Terry and Liz. We had cancelled the trip because the weather forecast was absolutely appalling and the whole thing would have been a waste of time. Terry and Liz had decided to visit the Centre yesterday as the weather would probably been a little better but Leon and I had to work and so were just happy to be able to get to the Centre for a few hours before the really bad weather set in. As we now seem to do when coming here, we arrived a little early so that we could spend some time near the Entrance Lake; you never know just what might turn up here.
The sky was overcast but there was no rain and it was also still quite warm for the time of the year. We had only been on site for a few minutes when we both realised that there were far more people about than was usual at the start of the day. We were soon to find out that this increased activity was due to a sighting on the previous evening of a Stone Curlew! People had come from miles around to try to get a view of this ‘early bird’.

THE LODGE IN SUNNIER TIMES

Photo: Sue Blair

We made our way, as usual, to the Observatory and were on this occasion accompanied by quite a few others. Kitted up and our notebooks at the ready, we made our way to the Lodge area to look for the Goldcrest. It did not take Leon very long to spot the bird; it was part of a large mixed flock of Tits and Finches all dead keen to out-sing each other! Although there were a good number of ‘birders’ about we were both pleased to see that there were not many ‘little darlings’ to be seen. We thought that his was probably due to the inclement weather that should soon be upon us. We made our way on to the ‘Wildside’ hide where we were to be the only occupants for a good twenty minutes or so. It was good to note that there were several pairs of Mute Swans to be seen; we had almost given up on them coming back at one point although we had had several reports of them being seen. Not so the Stonechats; we were not to see them during our whole visit. Whilst at the hide I was having great trouble with the old Derby! It just would not stop rumbling. I suggested that we break off what we were doing and head for the Restaurant as I really did need something to eat. Leon was only too happy to comply; it was my turn to pay after all! We stopped briefly on the way back to the food to have a quick look in the ‘Headley’ hide. There were a few of the ‘regulars’ intent on seeing the Stone Curlew scanning all visible areas of the site. I had my doubts that they would see it because I thought that I had read somewhere that they are mostly nocturnal. (I found out later that they are more active at dusk and dawn, not nocturnal).

EARLY MARSH MARIGOLDS

Photo: Reg Norman

Breakfast was excellent as usual and both of us felt much better once we had had our fill. There was a young lady breast-feeding in the restaurant. The infant could not have been more than a few months old and I wondered why somebody would bring such a young child out; he (or she) would certainly not appreciate the surroundings and there was a threat of some really nasty weather approaching. In fact we had put our waterproofs on, just in case, and the wind had picked up quite a bit and was noticeably colder.
From the ‘Dulverton’ hide we had a look for the Snipe that could usually be seen just outside, amongst the reeds. Again, there were people in this hide determined o see the Stone Curlew; again, they were to be disappointed. I felt sure that with the calibre of ‘birder’ that I knew to be about; if the bird was to be seen it would have been seen by now. I had noticed earlier in the day that there were not very many gulls on site but that they all seemed to have moved off to be over the river; perhaps our feathery guest had joined them?
We continued on and made our usual detour to see if we could spot the young Sparrowhawk amongst the boundary trees. The bird was there and we were able to watch it for quite some time, quite close up. Some of our ‘regular’ friends came along the main path so we ushered them towards us so that they might also enjoy the close-up views.

HIDDEN SPARROWHAWK!

Photo: Reg Norman

The feeder area was as busy as usual although there was neither sight nor sound of the Water Rail. There was also very little evidence of the ‘little darlings’ in their enclosure either!
The Sheltered Lagoon was also very busy; again there were large flocks of Tits and Finches. We also heard some birdsong that we did not recognise and, although taking plenty of time and being extra vigilant, we were to be unable to identify the singer. The parakeets were even more noisy than usual; they appeared to have flushed a Green Woodpecker from the trees and we watched as he undulated away from the clamour.
Upon entering the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide we were pleased to see that the water level had gone down somewhat. We also both hoped that this was part of the plan to maintain the amount of water needed for the site as a whole and that, hopefully, the problems with the mussels were now dealt with.

MORE MARSH MARIGOLDS!

Photo: Reg Norman

The Peacock Tower was quite busy; there appeared to be a ‘birding’ club outing in progress and it was most pleasing to see that the Bittern was showing quite well for them. One young lady offered me a look through her ‘scope which I accepted but did not stay looking long as she seemed to be having such a wonderful time! It was here that we learned that the first Sand Martin of the year had been seen that very morning; a fact that would be mentioned several time during the rest of our stay at the site.
Our first piece of really good luck came when we entered the ‘WWF’ hide. The Bittern had decided that he needed a little action and was showing really well and quite close-up; two weeks in a row, we must try the same pattern next week! I was particularly pleased for one couple that had travelled all the way from Somerset; by all accounts they come every year and have never been disappointed!
Our second piece of luck was to follow very shortly afterwards. We made our way back to where the young Sparrowhawk had been seen earlier hoping to watch him for a little more time. He was not there and so I suggested that we move on. Leon suggested otherwise, that we go back to the feeder area as we had seen the bird there on several occasions before; perhaps he had just changed positions. He was there alright; he was tucking into one of the (Great?) Tits in full view of all the other small birds. The amazing thing was that they were now all feeding eagerly as well from the feeders. Perhaps they somehow knew that the bird would now not be hunting?
We made our way back to the Centre, spotting as we went a Coot sitting on a nest in the Waterlife area.

THE LOG GARDEN

Photo; Reg Norman

We did not stay too long at ‘the office’; just long enough for a few beers and a chat about the day’s sightings. Or lack of them in the case of the Stone Curlew!

BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Ring Necked Parakeet, Blue Tit, Starling, Coot, Moorhen, Robin, Reed Bunting, Blackbird, Wren, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Feral Pigeon, Cormorant, Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Lapwing, Canada Goose, Shoveller, Black Headed Gull, Heron, Magpie, Great Crested Grebe, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Teal, Common Snipe, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Gadwall, Sparrowhawk, Coal Tit, Stock Dove, Long Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Bittern, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Pochard, Jackdaw, Goldfinch, Mistle Thrush, Pintail, Great Black Backed Gull.

2007-02-27T23:03:00.000Z

25th FEBRUARY 2007.

NEW BOY ON THE BLOCK!

This will be one of my shorter blog entries as I have been very busy elsewhere and so am short of time! We had been away to Elmley Marshes (see link to ‘Other Sites’, left) last week with our friends Terry and Liz, but, we always look forward to coming to the Centre wherever we have been and today was no exception! We had a special reason to look forward to todays’ trip as Terry was taking up his post as a volunteer and would be on ‘meet and greet’ duties! We missed him when we first arrived but were soon to catch up with him!
We had arrived early at the centre as we sometimes like to sit on one of the benches by the Entrance Lake as the area can be quite busy with a good mix of birdlife. We were not disappointed; every bird seemed to out to have a busy time!
Once inside the Centre we moved to the Observatory were we soon had our gear out and notebooks in hand. There were quite a few birds to be seen and our pens were flying!

EARLY DAFFODILS

Photo: Reg Norman

We renewed our acquaintance with the Goldcrest at The Lodge area; he was in company with many Tits and Finches, all in good voice! There was a very large number and had the appearance of all being in their Sunday best.
The whole site seemed to be very quiet as far as people were concerned, I had not seen it this quiet for many a week! The Headley hide was almost deserted and has been since the Bittern had decided to move location!
Likewise at the ‘Wildside’ hide; there were very few people about; in fact we had the place to ourselves for most of the time! The weather was not too bad either; it was fairly bright although as the day went on it was to get a little chillier.
We made our way back, eventually, driven by hunger and the fact that they stop doing breakfast at 11 o’clock! It was then that we met Terry at the main courtyard. He has decided to devote one weekend a month to volunteering; I think that it will suit him down to the ground as he seems to get on with people very easily.

TERRYS' FIRST DAY!

Photo: Reg Norman

After ‘brekkers’ we made our way to the ‘Dulverton’ where there was a small crowd of people and even fewer birds to see. Terry had kindly told us that the Bittern had been seen from the WWF hide but we had no luck there either! There were many birds about at the feeder area and a good crowd had gathered to watch the antics of them.
A walk around the Sheltered Lagoon was pleasant and we were accompanied for most of the way by a boisterous mixed flock of Tits. Again it seemed as if they were all in their Sunday finery! Arriving at the Wader Scrape hide we were once again sorry to see that most residents were Gulls and that we would have better views of them from the peacock Tower. A lady came in and raised our hopes a little with: “Have you seen the Kingfisher?” We asked if one had been about. “We sometimes get them here” she said, “I just wondered?”

RAT AT THE FEEDER

Photo: Reg Norman

The Tower was quite packed with people, many first timers I would say, all very interested in everything that was going on. We didn’t stay here very long, maybe half an hour or so as we wanted to try for the Bittern again. We were to be glad that we decided to move.
At the WWF hide once again we were pleased to see one of our favourite regulars, Rupert. He is always pointing things out to us and giving us snippets of information about different birds. The sort of stuff that is highly interesting to beginners like the pair of us!
He pointed out the area where the Bittern had been seen last and, as if by magic, out popped the bird! We haven’t had views of this beautiful creature like this for so long I had almost forgotten how brilliant its’ plumage was. The bird paraded up and down for some time; visible quite well with the naked but almost spectacular with binoculars! To cap it all Rupert let us have a ‘shuftie’ through his ‘scope. Stunning! A young lady in the hide could not see the bird at all; not unusual as they are hard to see until you see it, if you know what I mean! Rupert jumped to her rescue and let her use his ‘scope, once seen of course it could not be missed. The bird moved around quite freely, showing of his plumage and parading up and down the reedbed. We stayed for quite some time, enthralled with the spectacle before us.

NEW LIFE EVERYWHERE!

Photo: Reg Norman

Moving back towards the Centre we bumped, once more, into Terry who informed us that there was a Scaup visible from the Headley hide. We thanked him for the ‘heads up’ and sped off to see it. This would be a first for the both of us!
The bird was there, swimming amongst a small flock of Tufted Ducks. We probably missed it the first time that we were in the hide; we really do find out how little we still know when this sort of thing happens! Once you have seen the Scaup you are hardly likely to miss it again! It is, of course, entirely different to the Tufted Duck in a similar way!
This certainly rounded off the visit quite nicely for us and ‘the pigs’ not needing any seed we made our way to ‘the office’ for a few ‘relaxers’ and to relive some of the things that we had seen during the day. Including (I forgot to mention) a good number of Mute Swans. They have not been about for some time and certainly not in such numbers when they were here. It was good to see them back.

MORE FLOODING AFTER THE RAIN

Photo; Reg Norman

BIRDS SEEN: Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Mute Swan, Wren, Robin, Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Wood Pigeon, Starling, Shelduck, Cormorant, Heron, Little Grebe, Lapwing, Shoveller, Feral Pigeon, Greenfinch, Pied Wagtail, Ruddy Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Ring Necked Parakeet, Pochard, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Green Woodpecker, Greylag Goose, Gadwall, Common Snipe, Wigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Teal, Magpie, Reed Bunting, Coal Tit, Water Rail, Stonechat, Stock Dove, Bittern, Scaup, Great Black Backed Gull.

2007-02-26T21:00:00.000Z

11th FEBRUARY 2007.

A MOST OBLIGING SPARROWHAWK!

Today had the feel of something good about it; we were back into our usual pattern with no major group outings or events planned at the Centre. The weather was great and not too cold and we were looking forward to meeting up with our friends, Terry and Liz. As we waited for the ‘bus we noted that the local birds were all in good voice and all seemed to be very active. Things were looking up!
We arrived just after the Centre had opened and so did not meet up with our friends immediately, but made our way to the Observatory. There were quite a good number of birds to see and I started filling the notebook straight away. There seemed to be quite a few people about, probably a visiting birding club judging by their equipment and the knowledgeable discussions going on.

INSIDE 'THE LODGE'

Photo; Reg Norman

Moving to the Lodge area we were very pleased to see our friend the Goldcrest was openly singing his heart out whilst flitting from branch to branch. We pointed the bird out to a couple of people who were obviously oblivious to its’ presence, we found out then that it was heir first ‘birding’ trip and they were really pleased with the way other users were only too pleased to help.
At the ‘Headley’ hide we caught up with Terry and Liz. The Bittern was not showing itself but a Water Rail had been seen on several occasions. Terry had caught a fleeting glimpse of the bird and kindly pointed out its’ last position to us. We chatted about this and that to do with ‘birding’; as we did the Water rail swam across a small open area of water. I had a fabulous view but Terry, with his back to the action, missed it entirely even though several people tried to alert everybody else in the hide. One nice thing that we saw was a pair of Great Crested Grebes that were starting to go through their courtship ‘dance’.

EARLY BLOSSOM

Photo: Sue Blair

Our small group moved on to the ‘Wildside’ hide, spotting many small birds on the way. There were no outstanding birds to talk of to be seen from the hide; even the ‘regular’ Common Snipe could not be seen. We were glad however to see that ‘our’ Stonechats were moving around and seemed to be enjoying the nice weather. I mentioned to Terry that we had not seen any Mute Swans on our weekend trips here for some several weeks, he replied that he and Liz had seen some that very morning. I know that Leon had seen some on the 1st February but not having seen them for so long, when there were usually quite a few pairs to be seen here, I was beginning to worry a little. Perhaps the unusually deep water levels were having an effect on them?
Time was getting on and Leon and I decided to get some breakfast. Terry and Liz went back to the ‘Headley’ hide to see if they could see the Bittern. We walked back in the general direction of the Centre and parted company for a short while.
We were soon reunited at the restaurant; there had been no new sightings of the Bittern and our friends decided that they would have coffee and cake before moving off into the ‘Waterlife’ area. I hadn’t realised just how hungry I was and could easily have gone another breakfast, big as the portions are!

ACROSS THE MAIN LAKE

Photo: Leon Rusk

Having finished our meals we all moved to the ‘Dulverton’ hide where we were immediately shown the whereabouts of a common Snipe by one of the hides’ occupants. The bird had settled immediately outside and to the right of the hide. Even though it was so close it was perfectly hidden until you actually knew where it was; then you could see it with the naked eye!
The reedbed where Leon and I saw the young Sparrowhawk after it had tried for a Water Rail was pointed out to Terry and Liz and the tale of us forgetting, once again, to forget our cameras was related. Leon showed the picture of the wing to our grinning friends and we moved on once more.
We were in for a surprise when we reached the feeder station; there was quite a crowd gathered, all eagerly watching the small birds. It was then that Leon spotted the Sparrowhawk, perched only a few feet off the ground in cover! He explained that this was the same place that he had seen the bird a week or so earlier. Terry fixed his ‘scope on the bird and soon an ever growing crowd of people were gathering to see the bird. Terry, very kindly, tried to accommodate everybody and there were quite a few people who had excellent views of the young bird.

QUICK THINKING BY LEON!

Photo; Leon Rusk

Soon the bird flew off; perhaps the attention was too much for it. I was astounded that the small birds using the feeder continued to do so; perhaps they knew that it was not hungry or hunting? We proceeded to walk around the Sheltered Lagoon and thence to the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide. Although there were quite a few small birds to be seen on the walk itself we found the ‘Scrape’ hide o be a bit of a disappointment once again. The water level is still very high; we understand why but it is still a little frustrating. We have not seen the usual number of waders this year due to the water levels but the ducks have had it all their own way.
At the Peacock Tower there were quite a few people with their ‘scopes set up and others crowding the windows. There were good numbers of different water birds to be seen but it still amazes me that people from outside of the general London area spend so much time watching our latest pest species, the Ring Necked Parakeet. Perhaps we could persuade them to take a few hundred home each?
Leaving the Tower we made our way back to the Centre where we were to say our goodbyes. During the course of the morning, both Leon and I had been talking about going to Elmley Marshes next week and Terry suggested that he and Liz might like to go as well. This sounded like a brilliant idea and we said that we would keep in touch over the next week to finalise arrangements.

THE CROCUSES CONTINUE TO COME

Photo; Leon Rusk.

Leon and I made our way to the Rugby Club where we watched Fulham get beaten by Bolton (extremely bad luck and a blind referee) and Ireland get beaten by France in the rugby. Ireland should have won, they deserved to but they stopped playing 45 seconds from the end and France stole it!
Having worn ourselves out watching birds, football and rugby, we repaired to ‘the office’ to relax! We left, as you can imagine, quite late and were lucky to get a lift from a friend who stopped at the bus stop where we were waiting. He inquired as to what we had been doing. On being informed that we had been birding he asked what we had been looking for at this time of night. “Owls!” was the reply!

BIRDS SEEN: Coot Moorhen, Starling, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Wood Pigeon, Mallard, Carrion Crow, Great Crested Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Lapwing, Cormorant, Canada Goose, Chaffinch. Goldfinch, Blackbird, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Magpie, Common Snipe, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveller, Heron, Black Headed Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Pochard, Barnacle Goose, Reed Bunting, Coal Tit.

2007-02-24T18:57:00.000Z

4th FEBRUARY 2007.

CLOSE UP TO A SPARROWHAWK.

Having been at Bushy Park for most of the morning we didn’t arrive at the Centre until about midday. What had started out as a very nice sunny day had become quite gloomy. The temperature seemed to have dropped a little although the fairly dense mist we had encountered at Bushy was left behind.
Although this was going to be one of our ‘flying visits’ we kept faith with our usual plan for covering as much of the site as would be possible. Our first stop would of course be the Observatory where we could ‘kit-up’ and have a quick look around the site.

OUR USUAL STARTING POINT

Photo: Reg Norman

Although there did not seem to be numbers we would have usually have expected to see at least there was the usual diversity of species. We soon had all of the different types logged and we moved on to the Lodge area hoping to see the Goldcrest. We were to be disappointed; although we could hear the bird in the depths of he cover we could not see it. Somebody asked what we were looking and listening for so intently. I said that we were hoping to see a Goldcrest as we knew this to be the favourite spot for doing so. She thought that maybe the birds were all in hiding after the ‘Open Days’ that had taken place on the previous two days. I supposed that it could be one reason but was not entirely convinced!
We moved on to the ‘Wildside’ hide covering as much ground on the way as was possible. Truly, there did seem to be fewer birds about than usual although we could hear quite a few in cover. At the hide we met a nice couple who were quite keen to share information bout the site and he birds they might see. Leon pointed out the usual Common Snipe in its’ place just outside the hide. We looked for the Stonechat ‘couple’ but they could not be found and I hoped that they had not been taken by one of the local Sparrowhawks. We left the couple who were much appreciative of the little help with which we could supply. I would think that we may be seeing more of them as they really seemed to be enjoying themselves!
Making our way back to the ‘Headley’ hide we popped inside to ask about the Bittern.
By all accounts it had not been seen for a couple of days according to some of the regulars. We had a quick look around and moved on.
There did not seem to be too many people about; perhaps they had all come on the two free days previously. I hope that the WWT get some more members from the people who had visited.

THE DAZED SPARROWHAWK

Photo; Leon Rusk

There was nothing special to see from the ‘Dulverton’ hide so we did not stay long. As we detoured around one of the side paths, as we normally do, I heard a Water Rail screeching not twenty feet away from me. The reeds were thrashing about as was some bird or other and I craned my neck to see what it was. Leon came over and I told him that I thought something had had a go at the Rail and that it could possibly still be in amongst the reeds. He was not so sure but as he voiced his opinion a young Sparrowhawk fluttered up from the reeds and settled in a tree not more than twenty to thirty feet away! It looked as if it were a little dazed or disorientated and sat perfectly still for about three or four minutes. We enjoyed watching it for a little while and suddenly remembered our cameras. How many times have we both been so intent on watching something that we have forgotten to take pictures! Leon was the first to react so I did not bother as he normally gets the best shots. The bird sat entirely motionless as Leon started to ready himself for the shot. It flew off the moment that he was ready! Leon raised his camera which was obviously the signal for the bird to leave. Although quick, the bird was quicker and all that Leon was able to catch was the birds’ wing as it flew over his head! It was a good picture of a wing though. Perhaps he could take pictures of other parts of the bird and sort of ‘stitch’ them together?

THE WING!

Photo: Leon Rusk

We moved on to the feeder area where there did not seem to be too many birds bout. My own opinion is that they had all had enough to eat for the day and were sat somewhere out of the wind which as getting even more chilly.
Walking around the Sheltered Lagoon and popping in to the Wader Scrape hide produced nothing of great note so we stayed at neither for very long and moved on to the Peacock Tower. I was very pleased to see that the Tower had been fixed after the damage caused by the storms in the previous weeks. Although there was nothing of great note to be seen from the hide, it was jolly good to be able to use it again! I searched high and low for the Stonechats but was unable to find them.
We made our way back to the Centre y way of the WWF hide; we didn’t stay long at the hide and went quickly to the shop where Leon bought some food for his ‘pigs’. On the way back we saw a woman whose child had fallen in on of the small ponds. Somebody looked after that child while she went to look for another one!
We made our way to ‘the office’ where we enjoyed a few well earned ‘relaxers’ and talked at some length about all we had seen during yet another great day out.

BIRDS SEEN: Jackdaw, Magpie, Coot, Moorhen, Wood Pigeon, Cormorant, Starling, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Pochard, Lapwing, Heron, Ruddy Duck, Great Crested Grebe, feral Pigeon, Great Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Shoveller, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Stock Dove, Ring Necked Parakeet, Blackbird, Greylag Goose, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Robin, Coal Tit, Carrion Crow, Long Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Common Snipe, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Little Grebe, Wren, Sparrowhawk, Water Rail, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Song Thrush, Herring Gull, Jay.

2007-02-24T18:14:00.000Z

1st FEBRUARY 2007.

LEONS’ FIRST REPORT.

I had a day off; Reg had to work, so off I went. It was only the second time that I had been birding on my own, no supervision, no medication and a promise that I would be back for teatime and not abscond again! Joke!!
Well, I got to the wetlands later than I wanted, 10:20, but it was a fair day, overcast mostly, but dry and calm. I took our usual route, Observatory upstairs and get sorted out, downstairs were the post-natal mothers trying to work off what they had added by doing pelvic thrusts which got them in the position in the first place! Anyway, I digress, birds, that’s it!
The Main Lake was fairly full with the usual suspects, but I was pleased to see Mute Swans as, for the last 4 – 6 weekends we had not seen any. I left the Observatory and headed towards the ‘Wildside’, stopping by the log cabin to see or hear the Goldcrest in the conifers there, but, no joy.

FIRST SWAN FOR WEEKS!

Photo: Leon Rusk

I then went to the ‘Headley’ hide to see if the Bittern had been seen. There were a couple of people with ‘scopes but the Bittern wasn’t showing at he time and, later, I was to learn said bird had moved along to near to his/her old stomping ground of last winter by the WWF hide.
From there I went on to the ‘Wildside’ hide where there was not one but two Snipes on the small peninsular just outside of the hide, on the left, as you look across the Grazing Marsh. After a while all the birds were up! Raptor! Nah, also up was a cherry-picker crew repairing the Peacock Tower roof.
I moved back towards the Centre, again stopping for Goldcrests. Nothing. Never mind.

GOLDCREST COUNTRY!

Photo: Sue Blair

On to the ‘Waterlife’, lovely and quiet, at the bird feeder station a group of people were watching intently (which they were kind enough to show me was) a Sparrowhawk in the low branches. So no small birds there then!
I took a slow stroll around the Sheltered Lagoon and into the Wader Scrape hide. Zilch, work in progress on the Peacock Tower so I decided to make my way towards the Centre and exit, Getting there I thought I would have one more look out on the Main Lake from the Observatory. I could count more ‘planes than birds! Not only the work on the Peacock Tower but also two WWT workers out on the small islands from a boat moored nearby. I give up! I bypass ‘the office’ and go to my sisters’.

WORK ON THE TOWER

Photo: Leon Rusk

BIRDS SEEN: Great Tit, Moorhen, Coot, Starling, Blackbird, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Lapwing, cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Shoveller, Feral Pigeon, Heron, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Teal, Wigeon, Wood Pigeon, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Greenfinch, Little Grebe, Ring Necked Parakeet, Common Snipe, Gadwall, Greylag Goose, Stock Dove, Magpie, Sparrowhawk, Goldfinch, Black Headed Gull, Coal Tit.

2007-01-24T11:51:00.000Z

14th JANUARY 2007.

PEEK-A-BOO BITTERN.

Leon and I had started the day well with a visit to the Leg of Mutton Nature Reserve, Barnes, and had left there in good time to arrive at opening time. The weather was lovely, a bit chilly but with a clear blue sky and the sun shining brightly.
We started with a walk around the Waterlife area, then to the feeder station and finally a walk around the Sheltered Lagoon. We chose to go this way round because the sun was still very low and we thought that we might see more easily from this end of the site. There were plenty of birds about and they all seemed intent on making as much noise and being as boisterous as possible. When we called into the ‘Dulverton’ hide we were rewarded with a fine view of a Common Snipe that was parading just outside the window!

CATKINS WERE SEEN EVERYWHERE

Photo: Reg Norman

Having had such an early start we found that we were both very hungry and so we visited the restaurant for some breakfast. I didn’t realise just how hungry I was, even though the meal was delicious and the portions generous, I still felt a little hungry as we left!
We called into ‘The Lodge’ area to see if we could spot a Goldcrest but were to be unlucky. We had more luck at the ‘Headley’ hide where we were to see the Bittern. He kept appearing briefly and then vanishing just as quickly. You could, however, just make him out if you looked through a ‘scope, which we were able to do due to the generosity of some of the ‘regulars’ who were in the hide.
The Lapwings on the Main Lake were constantly going up and although we scanned the sky we could see no threatening raptors. Perhaps they were just very ‘jumpy’.
The ‘Wildside’ hide was to be our next stop and we reached it following a circituitous walk around the Wildside area itself. There were lots of small birds around, some we missed because they were behind us and therefore we had to look into the sun. This was a shame because we both realised that we didn’t know the calls of some of the birds and so could possibly have been new to us!

STRANGE DUCK IN THE 'WILDSIDE'!

Photo; Reg Norman

The ‘Wildside’ hide was crowded with visitors and most of them seemed to be well upon there ‘birding’. It was nice to be able to point out to some of them where they could see some Snipe among the reeds and to offer some suggestions about where else they might see different things.
We could only see the female Stonechat and that was only very briefly as she kept well into the cover of a reedbeds. We spent quite some time at the hide and noticed that the Lapwings on the Main Lake were still very jittery and taking flight every so often. There was still no sign of any bird of prey although we did spend a fair amount of time scanning the sky.
Leaving the hide we made our way back to the ‘Headley’ hide for another quick look at the ‘peek-a-boo’ Bittern. There was, by now, a good sized crowd in the hide and most had had at least a glimpse of the bird. I think that, of all the birds that I have seen, the camouflage of the Bittern is the most perfect. It never ceases to amaze me, every time that I see it, just how wonderful it is.
We revisited ‘The Lodge’ area and were pleased to see a Goldcrest. We then took a rare walk around the ‘New Zealand’ area to view the waterfall. We did this because I had heard that it was a good place to see Pied Wagtails and thought that we should see for ourselves if it were true. On this occasion it was not!

NO WAGTAILS HERE THEN!

Photo; Reg Norman

On reaching the Observatory we were disappointed to find that we were unable to go in as there was a private function in progress. We find that this is one of the most productive spots, in terms of waterfowl and duck species numbers, on the whole site. So, we moved on towards the Peacock Tower stopping at the feeder station once again and were rewarded with some excellent views of more Goldcrests! We popped briefly into the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide just to see if there was anything about but could only see a large flock of Wigeon grazing the Thames-side bank and what appeared to be an enormous number of gulls.
At the tower we were to be surprised at just how many gulls there were. There were hundreds of them! Although mostly Black Headed Gulls, there were several other species represented. I was also pleased to see ’Mr and Mrs’ Stonechat away off in the distance.

FIRST CROCUSES OF THE YEAR!

Photo; Reg Norman

We had had a good day and it was now time to make our way home. Leon had to buy some seed for his ’pigs’ and I wanted to buy another strap for my bins. Leon got his seed but the ‘InFocus’ shop was so busy that I gave up trying to get my strap.
We made our way to ‘the office’ where we discussed the events of the day. We thought about terry and Liz who had gone to Pulborough and hoped that they had had a good day. At least the weather was much better for them than it was for us last week! No doubt we would hear all about it via email or the ‘BirdForum’ site.

BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Chaffinch, Wood Pigeon, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Magpie, Starling, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Snipe, Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Great Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Lapwing, Teal, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Little Grebe, Ring Necked Parakeet, Goldfinch, Coal Tit, Wren, Dunnock, Long Tailed Tit, Gadwall, Wigeon, Heron, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Pochard, Bittern, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Green Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Greylag Goose.

2007-01-23T19:22:00.000Z

7th JANUARY 2007.

IMPROMPTU GULL LESSON.

I arrived, on my own as Leon was ‘doing something’, at about a quarter past twelve which was much later than I had originally planned. I had wanted to be on Wimbledon Common for about seven o’clock to start recording the ‘patch’ for the LondonBirders ‘Patchlist Competition’. The trip to Pulborough Brooks yesterday (see ‘Othersites’ blog, link to left) had taken more out of me than I thought. Consequently, when the alarm went off I must have killed it! It was an overcast day and only a little chilly. I didn’t bother with waterproofs and wore, as my main protection, the big new fleece that I had been given for Christmas by mother. I had also arranged to meet Terry and Liz as I had something for them but I looked like I would miss them. (I did miss them and found out later via ‘BirdForum’ that they were going to Pulborough next week!).
I had soon noted over twenty birds at my first call, the Observatory, and thought that this might just be a ‘good day’. The first bird of note was Sparrowhawk flashing down towards the ‘Wildside’ hide! My luck held as I reached the ‘Log Cabin’ area. I was hoping to see the Goldcrest and, sure enough, it popped out just as I arrived. He happily flitted about for about five minutes, singing all the while.
Moving on I thought that I would leave the ‘Headley’ hide alone and ‘pick the Bittern up’ on the way back!
Conscious of the fact that this would be not only a blog report but also my first entry, for this site, on the LondonBirders ‘Patchlist Competition’, I was listening out for all the birdsong that I knew. You can claim a bird by sound alone, frustratingly I didn’t recognize any and there seemed to be lots of unfamiliar calls about! It wasn’t too bad though as there was plenty to see!

AN 'EMPTY' FULL WADER SCRAPE!

Photo: Reg Norman

At the bridge just before the ‘Wildside’ hide I slowed down and crept forward, looking around the ‘corner’ of the reeds and was rewarded for my patience with a nice view of a Water Rail. It only lasted for a minute or so but it was the first really good look at one this winter. This really was turning out to be a good day!
At the hide I noted a Common Snipe in the usual place on the promontory. There were quite few people in the hide, some complaining of the cold which I found strange a it was only really cold when sat in front of one of the, open, East-facing windows. As these people left they were replaced by Rupert and Dan, two faces that I am always glad to see! They said that they had had a young Sparrowhawk hunting for most of the morning in this area and noting that only the female Stonechat was on view expressed a hope that it was not the male that the hawk had been after! There had also been reports of a Rock Pipit several times during the morning but I was not to see it today. Rupert found a new location for snoozing Snipe, there were four neatly lined up on the island to the north of the hide. We thought that we saw two jack Snipe in flight but facing into the (weak) light nobody could be really sure so they were not noted.
I moved back towards the ‘Headley’ hide to ‘pick up’ the Bittern. He had been out and about several times during the morning but, of course, was now hiding in the reeds! Typical! Not wanting to waste time, I moved on to the ‘Waterlife’ area as the light would probably not last too long given that it was so overcast.
There were plenty of people and birds about. The people were quiet, the birds not. Everywhere there were different bird calls, many I did not know and was glad that I had taken the opportunity to ask Rupert and Dan for any ideas on a really good CD of birdsong. I really must learn more about his side of bird recognition.
Although quiet at the hides the feeder area was very productive. The ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ was once again very quiet as was the ‘Wader Scrape’. I did note that there seemed to be a fair few gulls about. Alas, I had seen no swans again this week but Dan had said that they had been on site yesterday.
The ‘Peacock tower’ was very busy for a Sunday afternoon. I had not long been settled when Rupert and Dan turned up again! They were both astounded by the number of gulls all around us and it slowly dawned on me that there must have been hundreds of them. There was a very young chap in the hide who, attracted by Ruperts’ comments about gulls, started to ask some lovely questions. He obviously knew a lot more than the average ‘birder’ about gulls (I felt like an idiot!) and was keen to learn more about gulls from someone like Rupert. For about the next hour we were treated to an impromptu gull identification lesson. Rupert kindly showed the boy different aspects of the gulls plumage and also pointed out the different sub-species and how to tell them apart. Whilst doing this he was manoeuvring his ‘scope into the best positions and allowing the boy (and the ‘idiot’!) to have a look each time! Absolutely brilliant!

'GETTING' DARK!

Photo: Reg Norman

The light was by now starting to go so I made my way back to the ‘Headley’ hide once more to ‘pick up’ the Bittern. No show! One of the ‘regulars’ told me that he had been out recently but was now back in the reeds! Suddenly the bird moved! It stood up! It sat down again! Motionless I could not see it although I was allowed to look through our friends ‘scope. Even then it was very hard to see.
I went back to the ‘Wildside’ hide on the off-chance of seeing something and was glad that I did. There was our missing male Stonechat; I was pleased to see him! There was a group of people who were obviously new to ‘birding’ and I was pleased to be able to point a few things out for them.
I decided to make my way back to the ‘office’ as the light was all but gone. On the way back I was treated to the sight of a Kestrel hovering above the ‘Headley’ hide and suddenly diving down towards the Main Lake, Observatory end. I went in to the hide in case anybody had seen it. There was only one bloke in there he had not seen the Kestrel, BUT, very kindly pointed out a Ring Necked Duck! I thought for a moment that it was our Ring Necked/Tufted hybrid but, no, it was the genuine article!
I left again for the ‘office’ but changed my mind when I go there as it was ‘banged-out’!

BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Ring Necked Parakeet, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Moorhen, Carrion Crow, Sparrowhawk, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Shoveller, Mallard, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Lapwing, Starling, Ruddy Duck, Great Black Backed Gull, Pochard, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Goldcrest, Robin, Wren, Song Thrush, Water Rail, Common Snipe, Wigeon, Teal, Goldfinch, Canada Goose, Heron, Green Woodpecker, Gadwall, Stonechat, Kestrel, Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Common Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Bittern, Caspian Gull, Ring Necked Duck.

2007-01-03T22:56:00.000Z

31st DECEMBER 2006.

NATURE WALK AND YEARS’ FINAL SIGHTINGS.

The final day of the year was to hold several surprises. The first of which was that neither Terry, Leons’ brother, nor John, Leons’ cousin were going to be able to make it to the Wetlands Centre today. This was a shame as we had booked for the final Nature Walk of the year some weeks ago and I was looking forward to seeing these two chaps again.
It was an overcast, cold day and the wind appeared to be freshening as we made our way to the Centre. By the time we had met our guide, Dan, it had started to rain and I was glad of the lightweight anorak that I had in my bag. Our first stop was to be the ‘Headley’ hide to try to spot the Bittern that, by all accounts, had been showing well all week. We were to be disappointed; Dan had been there earlier and had drawn a blank then as well.

BARK COLOUR CHANGING

Photo: Reg Norman

The group was then directed back through the Centre towards the ‘Peacock Tower’ by way of the feeding station. All was strangely quiet in the ‘Waterlife’ area, indeed it was the quietest that I can ever remember it being. Things started to look up when we reached the feeder station, there were many of the usual Finches and Tits in evidence and the other members of the group, who seemed to be even less experienced that Leon and I were asking many questions.
We moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’ where it seemed to be very quiet as well although Dan kept himself very busy spotting different birds for us to see. We had some very good views of a pair of Pintails right outside the hide on the ‘Wader Scrape’.
After a while Dan made his way back to the Centre to leave us to our own devices. Leon and I stayed for a little while before deciding to make our way to the ‘Wildside’ hide. It had stopped raining by now and even looked like it might brighten up a bit!
Instead of taking the direct route to our destination we skirted the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ where we were lucky enough to see two different woodpeckers in quick succession although there was little else to be seen! When we reached the feeder station area again we were surprised to see a Brown Rat feeding amongst the Chaffinches and Wood Pigeons! Only a few feet away, the birds were taking absolutely no notice of him whatsoever! At the ‘Dulverton’ hide neither of us was surprised to see that there were no Snipe to be seen. It just seemed to be that sort of day where nothing much was to happen!
There as not much to be seen from the Observatory either, we managed to direct two chaps who were specifically looking for the Bittern towards the ‘Headley’ hide and wished them all the best. I re-packed my bag, returning the newly folded anorak to its’ place. Whilst doing so e discussed the birds that we had NOT seen this year that we would liked to have seen. Mine were the Long Billed Dowitcher at Oare Marshes and the famous Long Billed Murrelet in Devon. Leon would have loved to have seen the Goldcrest that our friend Terry and I had seen on this site. I said that it would be funny if, and that I would love him to see the bird on our final visit of the year!

TERRY, LIZ AND LEON

Photo; Reg Norman

We visited the ‘Lodge’ area just to see if we could tempt fate and it was here that we met up with Terry and Liz. Both Terry and I lost no time in telling Leon what a beautiful bird the Goldcrest was and how glad we were that we had seen it! Terry then went on to describe the almost perfect views that they had had of the Bittern from the ‘Headley hide. To add insult to injury I pointed out that the Goldcrest had now started to sing although we were unable to see it! We said goodbye to our friends and wished them all he best for the coming year.
They had only just left us when Leon shouted, (why does he always shout?) “There it is, the Goldcrest!” There it was, the Goldcrest! I am not sure who was the happiest, Leon for seeing it or me for him having seen it at last, the second of my surprises that day! We spent quite some time watching the small bird, pointing it out to several others as they passed.

FIRST CATKINS, NEW YEARS EVE

Photo; Reg Norman

The ‘Wildside’ hide was very quiet and we considered ourselves lucky to see the solitary Snipe in his usual position just outside the hide. We didn’t stay long as it was starting to get very cold as well. It was at this point that I tried out my new hip flask; it seemed to work alright but thought that I might need more practice. Leon thought that he would need some more as well!
We were glad to meet up with some of the ‘regulars’ in the ‘Headley’ hide who were only too pleased to regale us with tales of the Bitterns, swimming prowess! It had, of course, vanished into the reeds by now. It was probably the best place to be as the wind had picked up considerably and the temperature had dropped even more. We wished everybody the best for the coming year and made our way to ‘the office’ stopping only for seed for Leons’ ‘pigs’.

BIRDS SEEN: Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Lapwing, Blackbird, Cormorant, Coot, Moorhen, Carrion Crow, Starling, Shoveller, Ruddy Duck, Robin, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Long Tailed Tit, Teal, Wigeon, Black Headed Gull, Heron, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Little Grebe, Pintail, Gadwall, Ring Necked Parakeet, Canada Goose, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Reed Bunting, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Wren, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Kestrel, Common Snipe, Stonechat, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Jay, Great Crested Grebe.

2006-12-27T21:31:00.000Z

24th DECEMBER 2006.

CHRISTMAS CURLEW CALLS.

Our visit to the Centre today was to be quite short. As usual Leon and I still had some Christmas shopping to do on Christmas Eve! It was dry, somewhat overcast, day that had a bit of a nip in the air due toa North easterly wind. This wind would prove to be more noticeable when funnelled into the hides through open windows!

Stopping t the Observatory, we noticed that most birds were either out of sight or taking shelter on the leeward side of islands, trees and shrubs etc. We spent quite some time near 'The Lodge' again in the hope of seeing the Goldcrest. Although we could hear it among the small flock of Tits and Finches, we were to be disappointed once again.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS!

Photo: Sue Blair

Walking to the 'Wildside' hide we were amazed to notice that there were hardly any other people around. There was an unnatural quiet pervading the whole area with hardly any bird sounds apart from the occasional 'peeps' from the Coots. At the hide, we could not see much as most birds, once again, seemed to be sheltering from the wind. We could see no Stonechats and most strangely, no Mute Swans. I think that I am right in saying that this was the first time that we had not seen the Swans in all our visits here. There was a Common Snipe in the cover at the end of the small headland just ouside the hide.

CONTRASTING BARK

Photo: Sue Blair

Walking back to the Centre we were pleased to bump into Rupert who, most kindly, pointed out a Chiffchaff being given a hard time by a Robin. Leon and I both know what a Chiffchaff sounds like now!

The Bittern was not available for viewing when we popped into the 'Headley' hide. Neither of us was very much suprised, the bird probably had more sense than the pair of us and was keeping in the shelter of the reeds!

At the 'Waterlife' area we were able to see (and hear) more birds, we supposed that this was due tothe area being more sheltered. Looking from the hides in this area, out onto the main Lake, was also a little disappointing as the birds were on the far side of the islands! There were only a few gulls to be seen, they were probably feeding on the banks of the river, it being low-tide. There was, however, a large flock of Lapwing and they kept taking off at short intervals which made us scan the skies for raptors. We soon noted a Kestrel and were to see it several times during our visit.

The feeding area was alive with small birds, Tits and Finches of all varieties. The poor Chaffinches that were trying to eat below the feeders were constantly being chased by a Wood Pigeon of all things! Every time that one of the small birds landed the pigeon would charge in its' direction to chase it away! It must have been worn out by the end of the morning!

A walk around the 'Sheltered Lagoon' was quite unproductive apart from a small group of Long Tailed tits who, as usual, seemed to be having a great time carousing in the path-side shrubs and bushes!

The 'Wader Scrape' was still very full and there was not much to see on the water itself. There was avery large flock of Wigeon on the Thames-side bank though, eagerly cropping the grass.

We moved on to the 'Peacock Tower' where we were pleased to meet up with our freinds Terry and Liz. As we were swapping stories of what we had, and hadn't, seen that morning, Terry suddenly pointed to where the gulls usually 'loaf' on the Main Lake. A Curlew had just landed! It moved about for a few moments, every now and then sending out its' cry which is so evocative of wetlands. Then, it was gone! Ithad only stayed a few moments and if Terry had not pointed it out we would all have missed it!

We stayed for some time, scanning the reedbeds for signs of Snipe but were to be unlucky. Nobody had seen the Stonechats and there was still no evidence of Swans having been seen. Rupert turned up to ask if we had all seen the Curlew, he had seen it from the 'WWF' hide. Terry and Liz left for coffee and cakes after we had exchanged the best of Seasons Greetings.

REMINDER OF WARMER DAYS

Photo: Sue Blair

It was still strangely quiet when Leon and I made our way back to the Centre some ten minutes later. On the way back we were treated to some great displays of flying and hovering by the Kestrel that had been in evidence for most of the morning.
Anther bird that had been in evidence for most of the morning was a Green Woodpecker. Poor Terry, when he had seen it earlier, accidentally said “Cuckoo!” and, of course, he was ribbed about it whenever the opportunity arose! Mercilessly!
The ‘office’ was our next stop, only to fortify ourselves for the coming ordeal of late Christmas shopping, of course!

BIRDS SEEN: Coot, Moorhen, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Mallard, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Lapwing, Shoveller, Wigeon, Ruddy Duck, Little Grebe, Magpie, Jay, Blackbird, Long Tailed Tit, Common Snipe, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Teal, Heron, Canada Goose, Ring Necked Parakeet, Green Woodpecker, Gadwall, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Robin, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Greenfinch, Wren, Kestrel, Curlew, Starling, Pochard, Herring Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch, Blue Tit.

2006-12-19T21:31:00.000Z

17th DECEMBER 2006.

A WIND IN THE RUSHES.

No early start or visit to another site this week, we were off to the pantomime! We had bought the tickets several weeks ago as some of the young ladies we work with were appearing and we thought to support them in their efforts. Sue was still unwell and so would not be joining us, so Tim, our friend from work, and his granddaughter Sadie would be coming in her stead.
We were determined to get about the site for a bit before the show began, although we would not have much time! The Observatory was our first stop, to kit up and have a quick look to see what was about. Although very cold and a little breezy, the sun was out and so were many birds. We had decided to spend a little time looking for a Goldcrest as Leon has still not seen one but, although we allowed a good while we were to be unlucky.
The ‘Wildside’ hide was very quiet, indeed, the whole site seemed to be so. We could not see much as the sun was reflecting off the water for most of the viewable area. Leon spotted a Kestrel being mobbed quite high up; if it had been any lower we would not have seen it! We headed back towards the ‘Waterlife’ area, not stopping at the ‘Headley’ hide to save time, although we did stop for Leon to have some ‘nosebag’ at the restaurant.
Moving to the ‘Dulverton’ hide we came across some of the more ‘serious’ birdwatchers and thought that we might be in for a treat. Whether they were looking for something specific, or not, we would not find out. We saw the ‘usual’ Common Snipe on his island but there was no sign of ‘Jack’.
Time was running short so we only went as far as the feeder station, missing out the ‘Lagoon’ walk and a trip to the ‘Peacock’ tower. We saw many small birds and there were many singing in the shrubs and bushes around us.

WHO LOOKS MOST EXCITED ?

Photo: Reg Norman

We dashed back to the Centre in time to meet Tim and Sadie. On the way back we met up with one of the ‘regulars’ who informed us that the Bittern was showing well and so we decided that, at some point during the day, we would try to have a look for it.
Having met our guests we made our way into the Theatre, there was already a nice little crowd gathering. At this point Leon was going to great pains to say how much he didn’t want me to join in with the general banter of the pantomime and, as we took our seats, he slunk down into his seat.

COLD CAST

Photo: Reg Norman

The show got started and very good it was too! All around us the kids (of all ages!) were getting well behind the performers with all of the usual boos, hisses and shouts of “He’s behind you!” you know the sort of thing! I managed to get the others some placards to wave about for the ‘demonstration’ scene, sadly having to forgo the pleasure myself. As the story unfolded, ‘Mr Grouchy’ was now waving his placard for all he was worth! Tim, too, as getting into it and I had to restrain him from joining the kids on the stage when they were called up! I should have let him go! Both of ‘the boys’ were having a whale of a time, and, people were noticing! Sadie and I, of course, were the models of decorum, at least we cheered in the right places!
All too soon the show was over, we congratulated the cast members with whom we were acquainted and headed to ‘the office’ to calm down.
At the ‘office’ I mentioned to Leon that it was his round, “Oh no it isn’t!” he replied in best panto fashion! He meant it as well!

NEW GIRL AT THE OFFICE

Photo: Reg Norman

After mooching about for a bit we made our way back to the centre so that Leon could buy some seed and things for his ‘pigs’. Finally, we made our way to the ‘office, to talk about the events of the day.
We only stayed for a couple of beers and then headed back to the Centre to look for the Bittern. It was indeed showing well, some of the chaps in the hide only too pleased to let us have a look through their ‘scopes although we could see it through our ‘bins.

BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Magpie, Blackbird, Pochard, Ruddy Duck, Great Black Backed Gull, Heron, Feral Pigeon, Teal, Wood Pigeon, Great Tit, Robin, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Starling, Carrion Crow, Common Snipe, Shoveller, Gadwall, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Stonechat, Ring Necked Parakeet, Wigeon, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Kestrel, Wren, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting, grey Wagtail, Bittern, Barnacle Goose.

2006-12-10T22:01:00.000Z

10th DECEMBER 2006.

UNEXPECTED SIGHTINGS.

I hadn’t intended visiting the Centre today as I had been off work with a very nasty ‘flu-like cold. I decided to go as I had been cloistered in the flat for a few days and thought that I might benefit from a few hours (well wrapped up) in the fresh air. The forecast had been for wet weather but when I woke it was a beautiful, sunny day. I am glad that I was well wrapped as it was quite cold out. I did feel much better the minute that I walked out into the fresh air. I would be alone today as Leon was doing his George Formby impression somewhere!
I arrived at the centre at about 10:30, just as visitors were being disgorged from several coaches. I believed that they were from ‘birding’ clubs as most were carrying good binoculars, ‘scopes or both. I was to meet several of these people later and was incredibly pleased to be able to offer some advice and snippets of information that might be useful whilst visiting the site.
I made my way, as is usual, to the Observatory. There was very little to see, just a few Mallard and Coots. I put this down to wind direction and moved quickly on.
My first stop was the log cabin area where I looked for the Goldcrest. There was nothing doing at all, not even the small flocks of Tits that usually dominate this area. It appeared to be strangely quiet all around so I made my way directly to the ‘Wildside’ hide.
There was a good selection of waterfowl although not in any great number. Looking across the Grazing Marsh, I realised just how cold it must have been during the night. The whole of the area closest to the hide was frozen over. Several Wigeon had walked out on to the ice and it was this that drew my attention to it. It could not have been very thick as they broke through the ice on several occasions!
At the ‘Headley’ hide I met the first group of visitors that I was to encounter during the time of my visit. There was a large crowd, all very excited. I thought that maybe the Bittern was showing as they crowded towards the end where I last saw it. Imagine my shock when I realised that they were all enraptured by the sight of that latest of pests, the Ring Necked Parakeet! I related to them about the things waking me up at about half past three in the morning in the summer. About how they are killing hole- nesting birds and hogging the feeders which denies the smaller birds sustenance in the winter. “But they are lovely!” was the reply. I do not dispute that they are beautiful birds but they should be beautiful in their natural habitat.

THE LOG CABIN, GOLDCREST COUNTRY!

Photo: Reg Norman

I did not stop at the restaurant but moved straight through to the ‘Dulverton’ hide. I noticed flocks of small birds in the distance and looked forward to making their acquaintance later in the day. Inside the hide there was another large crowd of visitors, all of whom seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves in this new environment. I had popped in to see if the Snipe were still about. Having located the Common, I pointed it out to one of the ladies on my left. I nearly got killed in the rush! I still do not know much about ‘birding’ but being able to point things out for other people certainly gives me a ‘buzz’. I told some of the people about the feeding area and where they might get some good views of the young Kestrel. I told them about the Jack Snipe too and where they might best view it. Quite a few of them left at the same time as me and were soon well ahead and on the way, I suspect, to the Peacock Tower!
As I walked towards the ‘WWF’ hide I had a great surprise. Our friends, Terry and Liz, were coming towards me. I was not expecting to see them as I had an email from Terry to say that they would not be around this weekend. It was good to see them and gave Terry a chance to show me his new ‘bins. I had a look through them and can only say that they are STUNNING. The difference between his and mine is phenomenal, I have never seen such clear views through a pair of glasses like it! I told Terry about the Snipe and he said that he would drop into the hide on the way back for coffee and cake!
Parting, I moved into the area by the Eastern boundary fence to look for the flocks of small birds that I had seen earlier. I soon found them, what appeared to be several large mixed flocks of Tits and Finches moving backwards and forwards along the fence. I noticed that a couple of Great Tits were investigating the holes where the arris rails entered the fence posts with much interest. Then I saw what I took to be a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, one quite close the other a little further away. Hold on though … the other one couldn’t be further away because of the fence! I was looking at two different birds! Although only a few feet from each other I was looking at a Great Spotted and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at the same time! Just like the two different Snipe last week where the differences between the species was obvious, the same thing applied here. The size difference was the most striking (hence my thinking it was further back from me) and the colouring differences jumped out at me!
I stood, rooted to the spot, trying to take as much detail in as I could as this was one of the birds that Leon and I were looking forward to seeing. We knew that they were in the area, i.e.; Beverley Brook and surrounds, but had never seen one before.
Then I thought: “Terry! he will want to see this!” So I ran (or tried to run, wheezy as I was with the cold thingy) back to the ‘Dulverton’ hide in the hope that he would still be there. He was and hurried him back to where I had seen the birds, just in time to see the smaller fly over our heads and away! Arriving back to the viewing place the Great Spotted had moved along as well! I should have taken a picture. How many times have I said that? The camera, Sues’ digital, was set up and ready for use but I was so busy ‘looking’ that I forgot all about it again!
Terry and I parted once again and I moved on to the feeder area which was once again very busy. The Chaffinches that were feeding on the ground were being harried by a Moorhen for some reason. The ‘hen chased one or two birds away whilst others kept landing behind it! It was still doing this when I walked away!
The walk around the ‘Lagoon’ was quiet, I could hear some small birds’ contact ‘peeps’ in the undergrowth but could see none. By the seating area overlooking the ‘Lagoon’ I was looking deeply into the undergrowth and, seeing nothing, turned around to continue my walk to come almost face to face with a Kestrel! The bird was only about twelve feet off the ground and flying along the path. I had the idea that this was the ‘regular’ youngster that we often see in this area. A couple, who I took to be from one of the ‘birding’ clubs, approached me and asked if I had seen what had just flown above me. It had landed above them in a tree about fifteen feet above them and had afforded them close up views that they had never experienced before “… in all our years of watching!” Once again I was pleased to be able to offer someone some advice. I suggested that they carry on along the path until thy came upon the wooded seat and then to look about in the old trees where the bird is known to frequent. I do hope that they saw it as they were so keen to see it again. Leon and I have had some wonderful views of the bird from that bench.

THE PINE CLEARING FROM THE LOG CABIN

Photo; Reg Norman

The ‘Wader Scrape’ was pretty unproductive, just a couple of Mute Swans, a Wigeon and a couple of Gadwall. I did notice, however hat a brace of Magpies were pulling something to pieces in the long grass of the Thames-side bank.
I was expecting to see crowds of people in the Peacock Tower but the place was virtually empty! There was a couple who were showing somebody whose visit was obviously their first go at birdwatching. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and wished that he’d done it “years ago!”
The cold was beginning to get to me as the sun had gone in and the wind was getting up somewhat. I decided to go straight home, stopping briefly at the hides ‘just in case’. I also went back to where I saw the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, ‘just in case’! He wasn’t there, of course, but I did see my first Lesser Redpoll of the year!
The temperature was dropping fast, and I knew that I would soon get cold so I was glad when the ‘bus turned up almost straight away.
I didn’t go to ‘the office’ but felt much better for the fresh air, meeting friends and seeing the birds!

BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Heron, Coot, Moorhen, Shoveller, Ruddy Duck, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Canada Goose, Blackbird, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Teal, Stonechat, Ring Necked Parakeet, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Common Snipe, Gadwall, Starling, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Kestrel, Magpie, Herring Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Reed Bunting.
HYBRID: Ring Necked Duck x Tufted Duck.

2006-12-04T22:32:00.000Z

3rd DECEMBER 2006.

GOLDCREST AND JACK SNIPE.

REAL DECEMBER WEATHER!

Photo: Reg Norman

I arrived at the Centre at about half past one having been to Hyde Park for the first part of the day, if you can call 11 o’clock the ‘first part’ of the day! I had been to the park to see the Yellow Legged Gull that the London ’birding’ fraternity were all talking about. Leon was not with me today as he was busy helping Tim with some decorating.
The weather, as it had been since this morning following a terrible storm cum gale overnight, was very sunny although the wind was beginning to pick up quite rapidly. If it got much stronger I despaired that I might not see too many small birds.
From the Observatory I could see relatively few waterfowl and I suspected that most of them would be taking cover from the wind. This was to prove to be true as there were a good number of birds in the more sheltered areas of the site.
Our new friend, Terry, had told us last week that he had seen a Goldcrest or two in the ‘captive’ area. Never having seen one myself I was determined to spend some time looking for one this afternoon! I made my way to the area and stopped by the log cabin. I stopped to work out which route around the area I would take when I heard a strange (to me) birdsong. In the ‘Christmas’ trees, by the log cabin, there were several small birds moving about. They were very difficult to see but eventually I could make out some Tits in the deeper part of the cover. I had been told by somebody that Goldcrests often associate with Tits and, coupled with the strange birdsong, my hopes rose. The next moment the bird was there, easy as you like, just going about its’ business. I was entranced, the little bird was beautiful! It seemed to ignore my presence and hopped about quite happily, I will not forget that song and ‘contact’ call! It was a magic moment, I could probably have taken a photo it was so close but, as has happened so many times at this wonderful place, I completely forgot! I even had the camera ready, just in case! Never mind, I will make sue that there are other opportunities to see this bird. I know someone who will be itching to see one now!
I moved on to the ‘Wildside’ hide from where I got to see a lot more waterfowl and was able to point out some Snipe for a couple of ladies. I still cannot get used to the water level around the site but realise it is for the best.
I popped into the ‘Headley’ hide to see if our friend the Bittern was still obliging us with some good views. There were a few ‘regulars’ in the hide and they reported that although the bird had shown for about half an hour earlier, he was now nowhere to be seen. I am not too surprised by this, I expect that the bird is still getting used to his surroundings. Like last year, I am sure that as it settles the number of good sightings will increase, so I am in no great hurry to see him again.

The ‘Dulverton’ hide proved to be interesting. I had gone in to see if the Common Snipe that was in attendance yesterday, was still there. He was, and nobody had spotted him, but he was accompanied this time by a Jack Snipe! The ‘Jack’ was right next to him, they could have rested their bills on each others backs, although much harder to see as he was ‘just’ inside some cover. There were two ladies in the hide who thought that “… there is nothing to see!” and so I pointed out the Snipe. I was explaining the differences to them when the ‘Jack’ moved even closer to the other! They both tuned their heads perfectly as I explained about their respective bill length and then turned head-on for the medial head stripe bit! Size was easily discernable but the great thing was that when I tried to explain the ‘bobbing’ motion of the ‘Jack’, it got up and walked about a bit clearly demonstrating the motion! You could not plan it! I thought about the people who do the ‘walks’ here, if only they could get the birds to play their parts on a regular basis!

15:30 AND LIGHT ABOUT TO FADE

Photo: Reg Norman

Although the wind had increased since I first arrived at the site, there were still lots of small birds showing. I followed a small flock of Long Tailed Tits towards the ‘feeder’ area. As I walked along I could hear a Water Rail calling and thought that it would be nice to see one close up again. A Reed Bunting (there seem to be quite a lot about at the moment) flew into some reeds to the right of the path. I watched him for a few moments and caught sight of something from the corner of my eye. A Water Rail. The bird was in the same place that we had heard it calling from on the day of the ‘Gull I.D.’ walk and talk. I watched for just a few minutes and then it was gone, frightened into cover by a screeching ‘little darling’.
The feeder area was a hive of industry, there were small birds everywhere! Again there was a very large flock of Chaffinches all around the area, on the ground.
I didn’t stay in the ‘Peacock Tower’ for very long; there were crowds of people, some on guided tours and others just out enjoying the day.
I made my way out of the site, stopping at the ‘WWF’ hide (only a few gulls) and the ‘Dulverton’ hide to check on the Snipe. They were doing ‘synchronised sleeping’.
I would not normally have gone to the ‘office’ on my own but felt that I needed to sit down and take in all that I had seen during the day. I wanted to read up on the Goldcrest especially. I forced myself to have a couple of pints to aid concentration.

BRILLIANT DECEMBER SUNSHINE

Photo: Reg Norman

BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Shoveller, Cormorant, Coot, Moorhen, Lapwing, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Teal, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Wigeon, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Feral pigeon, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Starling, Ruddy Duck, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Goldcrest, Gadwall, Ring necked parakeet, Common Snipe, Heron, Jack Snipe, Reed Bunting, Water Rail, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Robin, Common Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Greylag Goose, Wren.
HYBRID: Greylag Goose / Canada Goose.

2006-12-04T22:10:00.000Z

2nd DECEMBER 2006.

GULL I.D. WALK.

Another relatively late start for the two of us, we arrived at the Centre at 09:30. It was much brighter today although still somewhat overcast. Nothing could have beaten the greyness of yesterdays’ early morning! It was not too cold at all and, although there was the threat of rain in the air, it did not do so until the late afternoon and then only very lightly.
We had time to pop into the Observatory for a quick look around and also to have a quick ‘cuppa’ in the restaurant. The day was brightening and all looked well for the walk and talk. We could certainly see many gulls in the vicinity of the ‘WWF’ hide where we were to receiving our instruction a little later on.

VIEW FROM 'WWF', SITE OF GULL I.D. TALK

Photo; Reg Norman

We gathered to meet our instructor in the main courtyard and we were both very pleased to see that today it would be Mr Rupert Kaye. We have been on several talks with him before and have always been impressed with both his knowledge and the ease with which he seems to impart the same to his ‘students’.
Last weekend Leon and I had set aside the part of the day to try to make some sense of the gulls ‘I.D.’ markings. We failed miserably due in part to the extremely bad light and the complexity of the task. We were both surprised that, once the unnecessary details had been removed, we could soon grasp the basics of gull identification! It all seemed so simple really! Of course, it is a very complex area of study and only much practice will enable the novice to gain real expertise in the identification of gulls. We had learned the basics today, quite thoroughly, and have a good base to build on. I would recommend any novice, like Leon and myself, to sign up for one of these courses.

BITTERN WATCHING, THE HEADLEY HIDE

Photo: Reg Norman

The course over, we moved about the site in much the same way as we would have done on a normal visit. The ‘Wildside’ hide was our first port of call. We were lucky enough to be able to help somebody out with seeing some birds, to their obvious delight. Whilst there we received the information that there was a Bittern to be seen from the ‘Headley’ hide.
At the ‘Headley’ we were greeted with a large crowd of people all intent on seeing the Bittern. There was a large group of ‘regulars’ who kindly let us view the bird through their ‘scopes. It still amazes me how fantastic the camouflage of some birds is, to render them almost invisible.
After watching the Bittern for a short while we moved on to cover the rest of the site. Although it was the weekend, we didn’t seem to have very many of the ‘little darlings’ around. In fact it was very quiet, much as I had been yesterday for the ‘Duck Walk’, for which we were very grateful.
We retired to ‘the office’ to talk things over. We had certainly gained an awful lot of information over the last two days. Let’s hope that some of it ‘sticks’.

FAVOURITE CHAIRS AT 'THE OFFICE'

Photo: Reg Norman

BIRDS SEEN: Pied Wagtail, Robin, Magpie, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Blue Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Cormorant, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Canada Goose, Lapwing, Teal, Ruddy Duck, Carrion Crow, Great Black Backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull (greaslii, intermedius) , Black Headed Gull, Shoveller, Common Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Jackdaw, Reed Bunting, Common Snipe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Stonechat, Wigeon, Green Woodpecker, Bittern, Pochard, Water Rail, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Heron, Coal Tit, Greylag Goose, Chaffinch, Wren, Gadwall, Pintail Long Tailed Tit, Grey Wagtail, Starling, Herring Gull.
Hybrids: Ring Necked Duck / Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose / Canada goose.

2006-12-04T21:42:00.000Z

1st DECEMBER 2006.

WINTER DUCK WALK.

Not too early a start for once, we arrived at the Centre for opening time (09:30) and were greeted with a ‘battle royal’ at the main gates. A Carrion Crow and a Magpie were having a right old scrap just inside the sports ground. The Maggie was giving as good as he got but looked on very shaky ground as the other black shapes started to wheel in around the combatants. Fortunately he was able to get away and hide in a relatively thickly covered Holly tree. It was interesting to see the Crows take up positions around the Holly, thus denying the Magpie any escape route. There appeared to be lots going on elsewhere and so the Crows soon lost interest in what could be a long, drawn out siege. They moved away and the Magpie slid off keeping a low profile!

THE ENTRANCE LAKE

Photo; Reg Norman

Having entered the site we, of course, made our way to the Observatory. We had a quick check around and got ourselves ready for our visit. We were having trouble seeing anything as the light was appalling and we were already feeling apprehensive about the viewing conditions for later on. Leon noted that there were lots of gulls so we would not be short of subjects for discussion.

VISITING BIRD CLUBBERS, HEADLEY HIDE

Photo: Reg Norman

We met up with the other members of the ‘Winter Duck Walk’ after having a look at all the usual places. The light was still moving between very bad and atrocious!
Our mentor for the event was Mr Neil Anderson and he was soon to prove a most remarkable fount of knowledge. It is, of course, one thing to be in possession of the amount of information that these chaps carry but to be able to impart that knowledge to others is surely a gift. Once again we were to be entertained as well as being instructed about our wildfowl and other natural heritage. Both Leon and I (and the others in our small group) were spellbound by the non-stop flow of information from somebody who obviously loves his subject!
Our meagre knowledge of waterfowl was soon being boosted by our host, indeed it had started before the ‘walk’ had commenced! Whilst waiting for the ‘off’, we were whisked inside the Observatory by one of the site stewards ‘to see something unusual’. We were shown a hybrid duck (Ring Necked Duck / Tufted Duck) for which I personally could see nothing special about. Mr Anderson, however, was soon pointing out all of he differences that made this duck ‘special’. (I must admit to feeling a little smart about being able to pick out the bird on the following day!)
After the walk had finished we spoke to Mr Anderson about ‘birding’ in general and said that we would keep in touch via the London Natural History Society website. We will certainly try to make some of their day trips to different sites and hopefully enrol as members in the New Year.
We mooched about for the remainder of the day having quite a few good sightings in different areas of the site.

'MAGIC' MUSHROOMS

Photo; Reg Norman

We would both heartily recommend anybody to go on one of these walks at any time. To be in the company of people such as Mr Anderson and to be taught by people with such passion for their chosen subject is a wonderful experience!
We had picked up so much information that we thought that we would adjourn to ‘the office’ to talk it all over. It was quiet here and we were most appreciative of it!
BIRDS SEEN: Carrion Crow, Magpie, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Greenfinch, Feral Pigeon, heron, Cormorant, Lapwing, Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Starling, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull (greaslii, intermedius), Herring Gull, Teal, Pochard, Canada Goose, Robin, Blackbird, Wren, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Common Snipe, Wigeon, Stonechat, Gadwall, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Mistle Thrush, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Greylag Goose, Pintail, Reed Bunting, Grey Wagtail.
Hybrids: Ring Necked Duck / Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose / Canada Goose.

2006-11-27T22:43:00.000Z

26th NOVEMBER 2006.

WET ‘N’ WILD

A brilliant start to our visit today, I saw my first Black Redstart! We had just walked up from the ‘Leg O’ Mutton’ Nature Reserve where we had had a very wet introduction to the day. Leon had popped into the ‘little girls’ room’ to freshen up when I noticed a small bird in one of the bushes by the Entrance Lake. He appeared to be having a ‘dingdong’ with a Wren. I watched for several minutes hardly daring to breathe, I was only a few yards away. The bird then moved off a little way although still easy to see with the naked eye or ‘bins’. I scooted over to get Leon; he came back with me and managed to get a good view of the bird for a few minutes. He then flew off and vanished behind the Centre. (The bird, not Leon!).

ENTRANCE LAKE RAINBOW

Photo; Reg Norman

We went to the front door where we were soon joined by our friends, Terry and Liz. We told them about the wet start to the day and the Black Redstart. After going inside we split up, Terry and Liz to the Observatory and Leon and I to the ‘WWF’ hide. Normally Leon and I would have gone to the Observatory as well but we had decided to ‘bone-up’ on gulls prior to our walk/talk that we would be attending later in the week.
Reaching the hide, the first thing we did was to have some coffee from our flasks. We were quite cold and damp still from our time at the ‘Leg O’ Mutton’ and needed warming up. Well, we made a start of sorts and tried vainly to make head or tail of the different gulls on view. As beginners we found it all quite confusing! Also, I may be wrong but I am not entirely sure that ‘Collins’ (great book that I think it is) is the ideal book to start learning about gull identification. We also had one other problem. The weather had once again deteriorated to such an extent that we couldn’t see the things in any case! It had grown very dark again and we had some VERY heavy showers. So heavy in fact that we could see no further than about ten yards! We decided to give up and let the experts teach us!

'WWF' TOWARDS 'WILDLIFE'. NO GULL I.D!

Photo: Leon Rusk.

We had made arrangements to meet up with Terry and Liz for coffee at the restaurant for eleven o’clock and having some time to spare we decided to check the feeder area and then go to the Observatory. All the time there was a light rain falling but Leon had noticed much blacker clouds moving our way. We made a dash for the Observatory and just made it as the heavens opened! Once again we could see very little, even the ducks were taking shelter!
We joined Terry and Liz in the restaurant and chatted about this and that including what cameras we used when getting photos for our blogs. Leons’ is quite a good one but the one that I use is a cheap old film camera or Sues’ (relatively) cheap digital thingy. Terry and Liz, both regulars at WWT, would not be around next week as they are going to Rutland Water; we hope that they have a good time.

FLOODED GRAZING MARSH

Photo; Reg Norman

We left them to move on to the ‘Wildlife’ hide. Again we could not see much as the weather kept closing in and we had torrential rain intermittently for the time that we were there. The water levels are now at the highest that either Leon or I have ever seen. We have seen the Grazing marsh flooded before but he whole of the site seems to be under water and following all the rain that we have had even the lawn areas are looking like miniature lakes!
We thought that we might just try the ‘Peacock Tower’ just in case we might see a Snipe or two when one was pointed out to us, just outside the ‘Wildside’ hide. We still moved on to the tower though, just in case. On the way back we missed going to the ‘Headley’ hide as we have not had much luck there of late!
On the way to the tower we stopped once again at the feeder area. Again we were able to see lots of different small birds including a large flock of Chaffinches. We could hear Long Tailed Tits but we were destined not to see them. In the hedge bank next to the Main Lake we came across lots of Blackbirds in a flock, probably about a dozen or so bids in all. We had never seen a group as large as this before. Also in the group was a Mistle Thrush!

MISERABLE DAY AT THE OBSEVATORY

Photo; Reg Norman

As we were about to approach the tower a lady came to us and said that a Bittern had been sighted at the ‘Headley’ hide! About to retrace our steps we were glad to see Terry and Liz coming our way with large grins on their faces. “They know!” said Leon. Indeed they did and were able to put us right about the ‘sighting’. It would appear that somebody had seen a Bittern FROM the ‘Headley’ hide but it was outside the ‘WWF’ hide or thereabouts! We stepped inside.
We could see neither hide nor hair of the bird and many of the regulars were beginning to turn up, also looking for the elusive bird. We never did see it and so went on to the tower for a quick look around.
I scanned the reed banks along the edge of the Main Lake but could see no Bittern although I did get a quick glimpse of a Water Rail.
We made our way back to the centre where we said goodbye to terry who was trying out a ‘scope from ‘In Focus’. We had been caught in yet another downpour and so decided to go to the ‘office’ to warm up and dry off.

LEON IN THE OBSERVATORY

Photo: Reg Norman

BIRDS SEEN: Ring Necked Parakeet, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Wren, Black Redstart, Canada goose, Lapwing, Blackbird, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Pied Wagtail, Shoveller, Great Crested Grebe, Teal, Mallard, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Common Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, herring Gull, Tufted Duck, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Cormorant, Ruddy Duck, Jay, Little Grebe, Pochard, Sparrowhawk, Stonechat, Gadwall, Common Snipe, Greylag Goose, Meadow Pipit, Water Rail, Mistle Thrush, Wigeon.

2006-11-25T10:49:00.000Z

AMONGST THE REEDS

Photo: Sue Blair

BUSHEY PARK TO WWT BARNES

2006-11-24T16:23:00.000Z

19th NOVEMBER 2006.

JACK IS BACK !

We didn’t arrive at the centre until gone twelve o’clock today. We had spent the best part of the morning at Bushey Park. We got the wrong train from Teddington which made us even later than we should have been. There is no blame to be attached but I will be handling the travel arrangements in future!

IT WAS COLD AT BUSHEY PARK EARLIER!

Photo: Reg Norman

We decided to stick to our usual plan and went to the Observatory to get kitted up and to have a quick look around the site. There were a good number of birds to be seen all around although I was a little disappointed not to see the Pintail, although they could have been on the ‘wrong’ side of any of the islands.
We moved on to the ‘Wildside’ hide, not going around the ‘Wildside’ area as we would normally do at this time of the year, purely because of the time. The hide was quite full as we arrived but the number of people there was diminishing rapidly, they were probably thinking about lunch! From this vantage point we could see that all areas of the site were very full with water, some much higher than I had ever seen in the time that we have been coming here. Not very good for waders, I thought that we might not be in luck with the Snipe this time around. Everywhere that we looked, birds were busy and many seemed to be just enjoying the warm, unseasonable, weather. The sun had come out earlier and it was very pleasant. It was, in fact, warm enough to entice many flying insects out including small ‘swarms’ of midge-like flies! Suddenly, many birds, Crows, Lapwings and Starlings were in the air. I strained my eyes to see what had startled them. I soon spotted the Sparrowhawk, every Crow had joined in the ‘mobbing’ and he was soon making good his getaway!
At the ‘Headley’ hide I finally got to see a Pintail (female). She was among many other waterfowl including a ‘raft’ of about thirty Shovellers.

WATER LEVELS WERE HIGH !

Photo: Reg Norman

Our ‘lightning’ tour next took us to ‘Waterlife’ area. Passing through the Restaurant seating area we were amazed at the numbers of people all struggling to get served! There were crowds sat about outside, all this halfway through November! The pied Wagtails have learned that this is a good spot for food scraps and they could be seen darting among peoples legs!
All around us we could hear the sounds of small birds. Most of them seemed to be in the boundary hedges which meant that we could not see them because it meant looking into the low Autumn sun! At the feeder area though, all was different. Once again we were treated to a wonderful array of Finches and Tits. On the way we even thought that we had seen a Bearded Tit but did not note it as neither of us was absolutely positive! A large flock of Long Tailed Tits went past in riotous order, there were other small birds with them but we could not tell what they were!
The walk around the ‘Lagoon’ was very quiet, hardly any bird sightings at all! A large group of people had come towards us from this area so we thought that they might have sent everything into hiding as they were making a little noise.
The ‘Wader Scrape’ was now the ‘Wader Pool’, only there were no waders! There were many different Ducks and Geese though.
We had almost dismissed the possibility of seeing Snipe or Water Rails as the water level was so high. Although we saw no Rails I did get a lovely site of a Jack Snipe on one of the islands on the Main Lake. I had been alerted to its’ presence by one of the regulars. As I raised my glasses it crossed between to clumps of sedge, stopped to stretch its’ wings and vanished. It never showed for me again. “It’s been doing that all morning!” said my regular friend.
There was a very large number of Gulls on the Main Lake and its’ islands. Once again we looked forward to the ‘Identifying Gulls’ talk that we were going to next week. We spent some time watching the birds, perhaps hoping for some inspiration?
We had hoped to bump into Terry and Liz again this week but as time went by we realised that because we had arrived so late, and I SHALL be organizing the travel arrangements in future, we had most probably have missed them.
We were very tired by now and decided that it was probably best to go and sit down for a while. This we did in the ‘office’ and had a few ‘relaxers’ whilst we mulled over everything we had seen throughout the day!
BIRDS SEEN: Pied Wagtail, Shoveller, Magpie, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot, Cormorant, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Moorhen, Starling, Green Woodpecker, Ruddy Duck, Pochard, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Heron, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Wigeon, Gadwall, Sparrowhawk, Canada Goose, Redwing, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Mute Swan, Herring Gull, Teal, Goldfinch, Common Gull, Greylag Goose, Stonechat, Pintail, Long Tailed Tit, Fieldfare, Great Tit, Dunnock, Ring Necked Parakeet, Robin, Jack Snipe, Coal Tit.

A FAVOURITE VIEW

2006-11-24T16:12:00.000Z

A FAVOURITE VIEWING SPOT

Photo: Reg Norman

BACK ON THE RAILS

2006-11-13T22:25:00.000Z

12th NOVEMBER 2006.

BACK ON THE RAILS!

We arrived at the centre very early today, about 09:00 and our little leggies were already a little tired! We had started the day by checking out the Leg O’Mutton Nature Reserve in Lonsdale Road, about fifteen minutes away when walking. Neither Leon nor I had been to the reserve for many years so we thought that we would check it out! We had a fine time there and will be going back here more often. If you have not been DO go, it is a nice site with access to the towpath (views of Chiswick Ait) and some woodland along the side of the reserve.
We had overestimated the time that it would take for us to get back to the centre, so here we were, drinking coffee and giving the Entrance Lake an awful lot more attention than it normally gets from us! We had a ball watching the antics of the Coots; can they never get on with one another? It was nice to sit in the sun on this crisp morning, talking about the birds that we had seen at the ‘LO’M’ and watching others that were passing us here!
Entering the centre at 09:30, we made straight for the Observatory. This was so that we could unpack our binoculars and notebooks that we had packed two minutes before at the Entrance Lake!
It seemed a bit quiet today, both on the water and in terms of visitor numbers. Maybe it was that we had not been here this early for quite some time and were not used to the quiet!
On the way to the ‘Wildside’ hide we walked around the ‘Wildside’ area, the Summer walk being closed for the winter. Again, we could not see much and even the birdsong, so prevalent at the ‘LO’M’ earlier now seemed to be missing. We did see a flash of blue that COULD have been a Kingfisher but, as neither of could be sure, we never noted it. As we approached the hide we were looking to either side among the reedbeds and their channels. I saw some Coots arguing over a short piece of dried reed whilst scanning the beds, when Leon said, “Water rail! No it isn’t!” “No it isn’t?” said I. “No”, he said, “It’s two!”
He was right, of course, there were two Water Rail, not thirty feet away having what appeared to be a right old time! They even looked in our direction and didn’t scurry into the reeds. They just kept on leaping about! Perhaps the fact that the Coots were even closer to us and ignoring us into the bargain, made them feel safer? We watched them for some time before they eventually moved into the reeds and we moved on to the hide.
We had only been in the hide for a few minutes when a chap said, smugly, “I’ve just seen a Water Rail! “Well, we’ve seen two!” was the almost split second response from the excitable junior partner of our team! The chap left the hide, which was a shame because Leon then saw a Chiffchaff to which he immediately alerted me! We were getting some quite good views for a few minutes when Leon said, “Wish it would come out into the open so we can have a GOOD look at it!” Reader, it did! It came out of the (Willow) cover and sat on some bare branches. It flitted about then posed and then flitted about and posed some more! Then it just posed! We watched for a good five minutes until it disappeared for good. Leon. I’ve said it before …how does he do it?
Breakfast called. We made our way back to the Restaurant via the ‘Headley’ hide where we only stopped for a quick peek. We would have stayed a bit longer but ‘Hawkeye’ was really hungry and had ‘to go’.
After breakfast we strolled through the ‘Wetlife’ area, there were fewer people about than we would have expected but there seemed to be a lot more birds. There were a few birds visible from the ‘Dulverton’ hide, mostly Shovellers.
On the way to the feeding area we were surprised to see a colourful bird make a quick entry into one of the reedbeds. We both thought that it might be the Bearded Tit that had been seen about the place so we hung around for ages, in vain as it turned out, nothing showed itself for at least ten minutes.
The feeder was pretty busy, many of the usual birds were in attendance: Tits and Finches mostly. Somebody said that there had been a Water Rail seen in the feeder area earlier in the day. There was one in regular attendance last year; perhaps it was the same bird.
The ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ walk was very quiet. We would normally expect to see many Tits and finches in this area, especially Long Tailed Tits, but we were to be disappointed on this occasion.
We had seen, from the ‘Wildside’ hide, that the water level in the ‘Wader Scrape’ was high. Just how high was quite a shock! There was very nearly nothing showing above the water, it lapped around some of the pebble trays! The ducks were having a field day but there was little else!
From the ‘Peacock Tower’ we could see that there was in fact more exposed ground than we first thought. There were some quite extensive ‘patches’, some even held the odd Snipe. They were, however, very shy and well hidden. We moved down to the first floor as the upper floor had become quite crowded. Leon soon spotted some Snipe in full view, feeding and preening. They stayed out for quite some time and we enjoyed watching them darting about (something that we had not seen before) catching some insect or other. We pointed them out to an American couple who appeared to be first-time ‘birders’. They were most grateful and the looks on their faces as they watched the birds were priceless.
There were still a huge number of Gulls about, none moving very much, it would probably been a good day to hold the ‘Gull I.D. Day’ that we were going to in a few weeks time on a day like today!
After visiting the ‘WWF’ hide, to see the Gulls at even closer range, we left the centre and made our way to the ‘office’ to discuss the day’s events. It was then that we remembered that, once again, we had not taken any ‘photos of the Rails or the Chiffchaff. How many times have we stood watching things that we may never see again without taking any pictures? Last years Bittern encounter immediately sprang to mind. We only had a couple of ‘relaxers’ and made our way home, tired but well pleased yet again with our day out.
BIRDS SEEN: Carrion Crow, Magpie, Great Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Coot, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Moorhen, Herring Gull, Wood pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Pied Wagtail, Mallard, Cormorant, Green Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Starling, Mute Swan, Shoveller, Little Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Heron, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Blackbird, Wren, Robin, Water Rail, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Chiffchaff, Stonechat, Egyptian Goose, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Chaffinch, Common Snipe, Reed Bunting, Stock Dove, Coal Tit, Common Gull.

NATURAL PLANT SCHEME

2006-11-13T21:45:00.000Z

HARMONY

Photo: Reg Norman

LEG-WEARY BIRDERS

2006-11-09T22:48:00.000Z

5th NOVEMBER 2006.

LEG-WEARY BIRDERS.

It was gone eleven o’clock when Leon and I reached the WWT Centre at Barnes. We had been to Richmond Park since about seven o’clock and had been walking for most of that time. Not being used to so much exercise first thing in the morning, we were feeling a little leg-weary! Although the day had started extremely cold and misty, it had cleared up and we were experiencing a beautiful autumn morning, although still cold the sun was glorious!
We started, as usual, at the Observatory. This gives us the chance to have a quick look around and to sort ourselves out with binoculars and notebooks. We were surprised by the number of people in the building; it would appear that there were several coach loads of visitors. The very first birds that we saw were a group of about ten Meadow Pipits – a great start. Within a few minutes the Pipits had gone and they were replaced by a similar number of Linnets! Full of expectation we headed off towards the ‘Wildside’ hide.
There were crowds of people everywhere that we looked. Many, many young couples were pushing youngsters around in pushchairs or guiding toddlers around the pathways. Also, there were many groups of what I think were ‘birding’ clubs, up for the day. Certainly many of them had a knowledge far superior to ours!
The ‘Summer Walk’ was, as we anticipated last week, closed to the public and we were glad that we had taken the last opportunity for this year to walk around it last time out. We have decided that over the winter months we will try to include a walk around the ‘Water Vole Trail’ each week, weather permitting.
The hide was jam-packed with people, even more so than at the Observatory. The majority were, however, obviously keen ‘birders’ as there was a low babble of chatter as we entered. This chatter was all bird related and was only occasionally shattered by the screeches of the ‘little darlings’. There was a good show of waterfowl and Leon soon spotted a kestrel sitting on the fence just past the weir. Even better, he excitedly pointed out a Sparrowhawk as it crossed the ‘Grazing Marsh’. I caught sight of it at the last moment and missed it taking a Starling although Leon saw it all. The bird took its’ meal to the shelter of an overhanging willow bush although it still remained in full view of the hide. There were many people suddenly crowded around ‘our’ end of the hide many taking pictures. It soon became apparent that the Starling was not dead, merely stunned. It flapped about a bit but was soon dispatched with a few deft strokes of the hawks’ beak. The bird had a light ‘patch’ on the back of its’ head and we wondered if this was the youngster that we had seen on many occasions before. Along with most of the rest of the crowd we decided it was time to move along and made our way back towards the Centre.
Not stopping for coffee (it was much later than we would usually be at the restaurant) we moved into the ‘Waterlife’ area. We would probably had trouble getting served anyway, the crowds inside were solid at the counter. There were also many people all around again. There must have been quite a few coaches in!
All around us were a myriad of Tits and Finches, although they kept further away from the paths than is usual. We were able to track them by following their calls; they really seemed to be enjoying the sunshine!
At the ‘Dulverton’ hide there was, of course, a large crowd inside but there were hardly any birds to see outside although there were a goodly number of gulls to be seen. This reminded us that we were going to a talk on gull recognition in the near future.
The feeder area, as usual, did not let us down. There were many small birds around including our first Siskin of the year and a very good viewing of a Great Spotted Woodpecker right up close. It was here that we met up with Terry and Liz our new-found friends. They had seen a few ‘bits and pieces’ and informed us that the ‘Peacock Tower’ was Snipe City! We asked if there were any ‘Jacks’ about but they replied in the negative. Terry is a ‘newbie’ like us but it is good to see his enthusiasm for the subject.
The walk around the ‘Lagoon’ produced many individuals. Unfortunately it was of the human kind and not of birds! We were, however, treated once more to the antics of a large flock of Tits with many of the Long Tailed variety among them. With the crowds around it was no surprise that they tended, once again, to keep further back from the paths than is usual.
At the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide (crowded) we were disappointed to see that the scrape was in fact a pool with hardly any of the small islands showing and very few birds on them. It was though heaven for most of the ducks that were clearly enjoying themselves!
We moved on to ‘Snipe City’. On the way there Leon said, “If the top floor is full of people, I’m going downstairs to the floor above.” Great if you can pull it off! True to Terrys’ prediction we did see quite a few Snipe. There seemed to be little else about, apart from ‘birders’, except that there were many Gulls at this end of the Main Lake. A chap pointed out a Caspian Gull and was trying to point out the things that made it a Caspian when the bugger flew off! (the gull, not the bloke!).
Moving on to the ‘WWT’ hide we were once again accompanied by quite a large number of visiting ‘birders’. Again most of them seemed knowledgeable and quietly discussed their subject. One of the chaps was talking about somebody who said that they had seen an American (?) Gull. He had been there for some time and had watched all of the gulls present and declared that no such bird was to be seen. He must have said it a million times and I am not one to exaggerate!
After leaving the Centre, we saw (and heard) some Redwings flying overhead. We did not go to the ‘office’ as we would normally have done. We were so weary that we went straight home with not so much as a ’swift half’!
BIRDS SEEN: Coot, Long Tailed Tit, Shoveller, Mallard, Moorhen, Pintail, Pochard, Cormorant, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Tufted Duck, Ring Necked Parakeet, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Ruddy Duck, Starling, Teal, Heron, Blackbird, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Canada Goose, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Kestrel, Stonechat, Sparrowhawk, Wigeon, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Siskin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Goldfinch, Magpie, Greenfinch, Common Snipe, Caspian gull, Herring Gull, Greylag Goose, Gadwall, Common Gull, Pied Wagtail, Redwing.

GUELDER ROSE BERRIES

2006-11-09T22:36:00.000Z

GUELDER ROSE

Photo: Sue Blair

A QUICK VISIT

2006-11-09T00:06:00.000Z

2nd NOVEMBER 2006.

A QUICK VISIT.

Todays visit was going to be very short as I had to go after work and the Centre now shuts at five o’clock. I had some time owing to me from work so I was able to leave at about two o’clock and, after a quick change at home, I was able to get to the site within half an hour!
The sky was absolutely clear and the sun could be warm if you could find somewhere sheltered from the light wind. This spell of good weather was ideal for watching birds as there was good light and little pollution.
I started at the Observatory and had a quick look around; there were a couple of ‘rafts’ of Shovellers each containing about twenty birds all enjoying their ‘merry-go-round’ feeding habit in the company of their friends. There were many other Shovellers dotted around the site.
I decided that as time would be short today I would not go to the ‘Wildside’ hide but would, instead, make my way to the ‘Wader Scrape’ and ‘Peacock Tower’. On the way to these to areas I stopped at the feeder station and walked around the ‘Lagoon’. The feeder station was quite busy with many Tits and Finches although a Ring Necked Parakeet did frighten them of occasionally. Whilst walking around the ‘Lagoon’ I was once again treated to the sight of a group of Long Tailed Tits swarming through the path-side bushes seemingly having a great time of it! The ‘Wader Scrape’ itself was pretty full and though there were goodly numbers of Teal, Gadwall and Mallard, I couldn’t see much else. I made my way to the Tower.
At the Tower I was greeted by a lovely orangey glow across the site and filling the viewing room. I had brought my camera today having forgotten to pack it for the last few weeks. I was so entranced by the glow (and thinking what a great ‘photo it would make) that I forgot to take one! There was a lady in the room explaining to a chap who was visiting from Hampshire that Pochards were rarely seen here. Cue Pochard swimming past! Apparently Sparrowhawks were none too common here either. Cue Sparrowhawk darting across the ‘Grazing Marsh’ and just failing to take a Stonechat!
There was a nice view of a Common Snipe nestling in amongst some dead stems, I nearly missed him but it moved as I was ‘sweeping’ along the bank. Once I had seen him of course, he was easy to keep an eye on.
The light seemed to fade very quickly and so, making my farewells to my new found friends, I made my way back to the Centre stopping at the ‘WWF’ and ‘Dulverton’ hides on the way back. The light had really almost gone and so I was unable to see much.
The ‘office’ was my last port of call where I bumped into Leon and Tim who had just ‘popped in’ briefly. I told Leon about the birds that I had seen, especially those that were not common here!
BIRDS SEEN: Wood Pigeon, Ring Necked Parakeet, Coot, Mallard, Stock Dove, Cormorant, Lapwing, Moorhen, Shoveller, Starling, Carrion Crow, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Pied Wagtail, Collared Dove, Kestrel, Canada Goose, Teal, Great Crested Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Blackbird, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Sparrowhawk, Common Snipe, Stonechat, Pochard, Green Woodpecker, Herring Gull.

FROM PEACOCK TOWER TO THE LAGOON

2006-11-09T00:02:00.000Z

MISTY LAGOON FROM THE PEACOCK

Photo;Sue Blair

LATE START

2006-11-09T00:01:00.001Z

29TH OCTOBER 2006.

LATE START AT THE WETLANDS.

It was a late start to our time at the Centre today as Leon and I had been to Staines Reservoirs earlier in the day. In fact we had caught the first train from Barnes and had had a good day already! Although still a little nippy here was a clear blue sky and, in sheltered places, could be quite warm. The only downside as that the pleasant weather had bought out swarms of ‘little darlings’.
After visiting the Observatory we made our way to the ‘Wildside’ hide which was quite crowded compared to the usual numbers of people that we experience there. Most people there seemed to be quite keen and many had good binoculars or ‘scopes. I heard several of them talking quite learnedly about different aspects of the birds that they were viewing which led me to believe that there may have been a coach party or two that were visiting for the day. We spent quite along time at the hide enjoying good visibility and a wide range of birds. The main migration had supposedly started just recently because the temperatures seemed to have dropped enough to make the bids think about moving. This seemed to be the consensus amongst most of the people that we spoke to. Unfortunately we were destined not to see any of the Pipits that were seen earlier in the week but we did enjoy looking at the ‘usual’ inhabitants.
Leaving the ‘Wildside’ hide we made our way back via the ‘Summer walk’ because we thought that this time next week it could well be closed for the winter. We hope not, but you never know!
The trains and buses, running late, had made sure that we missed breakfast so we didn’t even stop for coffee and moved directly to the ‘Waterlife’ area. We are still amazed at the different types and numbers of flowers that are still in flower about the site and this area is no exception. Too, there were many small birds scampering amongst the trees. We could hear snippets of birdsong as we walked along, although the predominant sound was of the ‘little darlings’ in the ‘Explore’ area.
The feeder area was well attended by lots of Tits and Finches. It annoys me that people WILL walk onto the grass area, sometimes frightening the small birds away and always stopping other people from enjoying the action inside the feeding area itself. Whilst walking towards the feeding area we had been treated to some lovely views of a Kestrel searching for prey and hovering. Of course, it was Leon that had spotted the bird; he never seems to fail where raptors and ‘hidden’ birds are concerned!
A slow walk around the ‘Lagoon’ was rewarded with some excellent views of Long Tailed Tits and their friends carousing in the path-side bushes. If you stood still they would come quite close and when you couldn’t se them you could track them with their distinctive calls. The birds are starting to develop their lovely pink colouration, which makes them one of my favourite birds to watch.
The ‘Wader Scrape’ hide was packed with eager ‘birders’ as well, probably confirming my idea that there was a couple of coach parties in. From the hide we could see a good many Teal and Gadwall as well as a good mix of other ‘regulars’.
When we arrived at the ‘Peacock Tower’ we were not surprised to see that it, too, was quite crowded. The crowds were, however, beginning to thin out even as we made our way upstairs. By the time we had spent ten minutes there the place had all but emptied. Some of the ‘regulars’ told us that it had been quite quiet but that the weather had made for some spectacular viewing conditions. One chap pointed out a grounded Sparrowhawk at the far side of the ‘Grazing Marsh’. The conditions were such that I could see the bird reasonably well through my binoculars but was well pleased when he let both Leon and I ‘have a squint’ through his ‘scope! The birds’ eyes were most noticeable, a fierce yellow-gold which seemed to penetrate down the length of the ‘scope. A Carrion Crow landed nearby and tried to roust him out of his spot in amongst a light covering of dead Purple Loosestrife stems but he was having none of it and his tormentor soon gave up. After about fifteen minutes the Sparrowhawk came out to the edge of the marsh and, looking very intently, made as if to make a sudden strike at some target directly in line with us. He changed his mind however and just stood looking about, out in the open. This was all that the Crow needed and he started towards the hawk calling, as if summoning help which soon arrived in the shape of two more of his kin. They spread themselves about him and, being out numbered and outmanoeuvred, he flew of to the trees on the outskirts of the Centre, Crows in hot pursuit.
Although it would have been nice to spend a little more time at the hide we decided to make our way back to the shop, by way of the ‘WWF’ hide. Again, this hide was quite busy with a couple taking particular interest in the collection of Gulls and Cormorants.
The hides were not the only places to be fully packed on this particular day. The ‘office’ was packed solid and having already decided that we would only stop for just two pints abandoned the idea all together, and so, made our way home.
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Shoveller, Lapwing, Mute Swan, Ruddy duck, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Pochard, Teal, Wigeon, Wood Pigeon, Coot, Moorhen, Cormorant, Feral Pigeon, Heron, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Greylag Goose, Magpie, Jay, Sparrowhawk, Stonechat, Kestrel, Wren, Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Common Snipe, Starling.

MUTE SWANS

2006-11-08T23:57:00.000Z

MUTE SWANS

Photo; Sue Blair

AFTERNOON DASH

2006-11-08T23:54:00.000Z

26th OCTOBER 2006.

AFTERNOON DASH

I decided to go to the Centre straight from work today. Late-night opening has finished until next year and to get around even part of the site means that you have to get there as soon as is possible. I finished work a little early as I had some time owing and so made god my escape as soon as was possible.
The weather was lovely, sunny and warm. A bus came almost immediately and so I was at the Centre before three o’clock. I had decided, on the way, to go straight to the Observatory and then to the ‘Peacock Tower’ taking in the other hides and feeder station on the way. A kestrel was hovering over the Centre as I arrived and I hoped that this might bode well for the rest of the afternoon.
The Observatory was full of ‘little darlings’ and, although I was able to see many birds out on the water, I did not stay long because of the noise.
Walking through the ‘Waterlife’ area was quite pleasant. Although there were still many ‘little darlings’ about they seemed to be of the much quieter variety. There were many different types of small birds around me and most seemed intent on singing. Not the very vocal, intricate, songs of the springtime but very pleasing none the less! I was surprised to find the feeder station very busy with a good mixture of Tits and Finches in attendance.
I had a terrific experience whilst walking around the ‘Lagoon’. As I reached the first bench as you walk towards the ‘Wader scrape’ hide I was surprised by a sudden eruption of sound and movement from the bushes on my immediate right. I stood stock still and was rewarded with about ten minutes of the most perfect view of Long Tailed Tits carousing along the periphery of the bushes. They were joined by several other Tits of different types and seemed committed to having a ball! It was such a lovely afternoon that I wondered if they might be celebrating the unseasonable warmth. I hoped that nobody would come along and break the spell and was transfixed until the flock had moved away out of sight.
The ‘Wader Scrape’ hide was fairly full (as was the Scrape itself) and, not being able to see much, I moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’.
From the ‘Tower’ I was able to see good sized flocks of Teal, Wigeon and Gadwall. The Wigeon numbers would soon be swelling to their usual numbers as the migration (when it gets fully underway) continues. A Sparrowhawk made a ‘pass’ at a small group of Teal but had no luck. The birds were already scattering as he arrived.
I called in to the WWF hide on the way back and as I walked in a chap who I recognized as a regular pointed out a Yellow Legged Gull among all of the Black Headed Gulls. Both Leon and myself are not too well up on Gulls and are both looking forward to the ‘Identifying Gulls’ talk/walk in early December. Thinking of Leon, I remembered that I was supposed to meet him at the WWT shop as he was popping in to get some seed and stuff for his ‘hungry little friends’!
I went back to the Centre in time to meet Leon just coming to meet me! He had made his purchases and so we went to the ‘office’ for a few quick halves ‘because the buses would be full’. I had quite a bit to tell him, especially about the Long Tailed Tits.
BIRDS SEEN: Kestrel, Coot, Moorhen, Ring Necked Parakeet, Shoveller, Mallard, Wood Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Pochard, Heron, Ruddy Duck, Starling, Lapwing, Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Coal Tit, Robin, Greenfinch, Magpie, Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird, Teal, Canada Goose, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mute Swan, Common Snipe, Herring Gull, Sparrowhawk, Yellow Legged Gull, Pied Wagtail, Greylag Goose.

TIME TO GO HOME

2006-11-08T23:50:00.000Z

TIME TO GO HOME

Photo: Sue Blair

ANOTHER MEMBERS WALK

2006-11-08T23:41:00.000Z

19TH OCTOBER 2006.

ANOTHER MEMBERS WALK

Before meeting Leon for our day at WWT Barnes, I made a short trip to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The sole purpose of this trip was to ‘recce’ the place for a future day-visit by Leon and myself. I had been reading some reports about the place on the ‘London Birders’ website and thought that it might be a good place for the two of us. A chap called Des McKenzie had posted several reports so I emailed him and received a smashing reply suggesting places to go and what I might expect to see. Just what we novices need! Anyway, I had a lovely time thanks mostly to the help I had been sent. I arrived at 06:30 ……..it was still dark! I entered the park by the ‘Albert’ gate and was resting my bag on a mounting block when two youngish coppers said “Alright sir?” they had been standing just feet from me and I had not seen them! “Er… yes” I said, “I am just doing a bit of birdwatching!” whilst taking my binoculars from my bag. ”What you looking for, Owls?” said one of them! I couldn’t stop laughing and carried on my way. By the time I reached the Serpentine, about ten minutes, it was getting lighter and I could see the birds on the lake well enough.
After about two and a half hours and not covering half of what I had intended I made my way towards Barnes. The best memory of the day was a flock of Tits, mostly Long Tailed, that were busy in the trees around me near the Peter Pan. We see these birds quite regularly Barnes but never quite so close, they seemed totally absorbed in what they were doing.
BIRDS SEEN: Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Coot, Mallard, Mute Swan, Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Goose, Robin, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Great tit, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Wren, Long Tailed Tit, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Mandarin Duck, heron, Starling,

Upon reaching WWT Barnes I made my way straight to the Observatory to await Leons’ arrival. I only had to wait for a few minutes before he arrived and we set off for the ‘Wildside’ hide. We did not go by way of the Summer Walk as we thought that that might be covered by the Members Wildlife walk later in the day. We could see a good variety of ducks at the far end of the lake but could not get any detailed views because of the distance. I mentioned that it was a shame that they were so far away to Leon. A few moments later a Sparrowhawk flew straight across the lake, most of the birds took flight and landed almost outside the hide! Leon grinned. The next time that I want something I shall mention it to Leon, perhaps he has friends in high places.
Leon reminded me that it was my turn to pay for breakfast and that we only had fifteen minutes left before they shut the breakfast bar. We hot-footed it to the restaurant, bypassing the ‘Headley’ hide in our eagerness for food, only to be told that they only cooked breakfast at the weekend! We made do with coffee and cake.
After our light breakfast we made our way through to the ‘Waterlife’ section. There were quite a few small birds around and we were aware that there were several songs that we did not know. However hard we looked though, we could not see the birds that were making the unknown calls.
We stopped at all of the usual places on the way to the ‘Peacock Tower’ noting many small birds on the way. Once or twice the flock of Lapwings, Starlings and some Teal took off, but we could see no evidence of the presence of a raptor.
Staying at the tower until just before one o’clock, we could see many birds all around the site. It wasn’t until just before we left for the walk that the Snipe came out to feed and the stonechats made their presence felt. Singing at first and the by flitting through the dead stalks of the Purple Loosestrife. This was a particularly good part of the day as we were able to point out some of the birds to a group of ladies who obviously had the same sort of level of knowledge as ourselves but lacked the experience of the site. It always pleases me when we can do this as we have had so much help ourselves in the past and this seems a good way of repaying the debt.
We made our way back to the Visitor Centre courtyard to meet up with the rest of the Wildlife Walk group. Our guide for the walk was to be Richard who we have been with before and had enjoyed his instruction immensely. We were not to be disappointed this time either as he kept us entertained, once again, for the whole of the walk. It was nice to go onto the Bank once again, this enabled us to see some of the ‘behind the scenes’ work that is carried out at the centre. Looking under sheets of hardboard and others of corrugated iron Leon was eventually able to see his first Slow Worm. We had to look under quite a few before we found one but the look on his face was priceless! He took some photos of the little creatures (about five, I believe) and if they are clear enough I will ask if I might stick one or two up here. We covered a lot more of the site than on other walks (including the Summer Walk) and we ran over time, but, our guide kept us enthralled with his fantastic knowledge of wildlife, especially of things botanical.
After the walk we had a quick look in some of the hides that we had visited earlier in the day before heading off to the ‘office’. You can always tell when Leon would like a beer, his tongue lolls out of the side of his mouth! On the way, Leon was once again disappointed to find that the shop, once again, did not have the seeds that his birds seem to prefer. I suggested to him that when he gets paid at the end of the month he might like to stock-up on their ‘favourite’! “It will only mean that they eat more!” was his reply. I guess that they will just have to go ‘hungry’.
We certainly had lots to talk about at the ‘office’ and we were joined later in the day by both Tim and Sue who both popped in after work.
BIRDS SEEN: Great Tit, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, House Sparrow, Ring Necked Parakeet, Shoveller, Teal, Cormorant, Lapwing, Great Crested Grebe, Gadwall, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Greenfinch, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Heron, Canada Goose, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Ruddy Duck, Carrion Crow, Starling, Jay, Magpie, Goldfinch, Wren, Blue Tit, Greylag Goose, Green Woodpecker, Barnacle Goose, Sparrowhawk, Wigeon, Pied Wagtail, Collared Dove, Common Snipe, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Stonechat, Chaffinch, Pochard, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Long Tailed Tit.

PEACE AND TRANQUILITY

2006-10-15T22:24:00.000+01:00

A QUIET POOL.

Photo: Reg Norman

A DAY FOR KESTRELS

2006-10-15T20:44:00.000+01:00

15th OCTOBER 2006.

A DAY FOR KESTRELS

We were back to normal today as Leon was once again in attendance. The weather forecast had been for bright sunshine but it was overcast and quite chilly. I did believe, however, that it would brighten up later in the day. The wind was quite stiff but not really cold. Not having to wait long for the ‘bus meant that we arrived in good time to have a quick look around before the doors opened.
As usual our first port of call was the Observatory. This enabled us to get our glasses on and to have a quick ‘shuftie’ around the site. The day started well as a Kestrel was mobbed by a pair of Crows just outside of the window. We had a superb view, as the birds were literally feet away! There were quite a few different species about; the day looked quite promising.
Moving to the ‘Wildside’ hide we went directly rather than around the Summer Walk because we saw a brilliant flash of colour and went to investigate. It was a young Green Woodpecker. There were a good number of different species of birds on view from the hide although most were waterfowl and ducks. The migrants that we hoped to see on the Grazing Marsh just did not appear. We were treated to some good views of a young Sparrowhawk that perched on the gate of the track over the weir. He didn’t stay long as a couple of Magpies soon rousted him from his position.
We moved back to the ‘Headley’ hide by way of the Summer Walk and, although we could hear lots of birdlife, didn’t manage to see much as there were still plenty of leaves left on the trees. The wind seemed to be keeping the little birds in the centre of the bushes and shrubs. We were also disappointed at the hide as the sun was shining straight towards us making viewing almost impossible.
Breakfast was next on the agenda. We ate heartily and moved on to the Waterlife area. Whilst walking around one of the small detours Leon noticed a small, colourful bird. “Reed Bunting” he said and as it flashed past I would have agreed. It was, however, not a Bunting but a Stonechat. A chap who was passing with his wife asked what it was and we got talking. All the while the Stonechat kept putting in appearances only feet away from us and Leon was able to take quite a few pictures. It turned out that this chap was one that I had been ‘talking’ to on one of the websites (Bird Form) that I now use. His name is Terry and I was jolly pleased to meet both him and his wife. I had sent him the email address of another site and he and his wife had booked to go on the same guided tour as Leon and I were to attend next week!
Parting, Leon and I went to the feeding station by the ‘Lagoon’ which was not as busy as usual. Perhaps this was because of the wind. Walking around the ‘Lagoon’ was also not very productive; again we could hear the birds but seeing them was another story. We did see a very strange squirrel though. This little animal was both Grey and Red in colour and also sported four little white ‘boots’! Very strange.
The ‘Wader Scrape’ hide was totally full when we arrived. There were certainly birds in numbers but not many species. We only stayed for a few minutes and moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’.
It became quite apparent that we were not to see much from the ‘Tower’ either. Although the sun was, by now shining quite brightly and it was quite warm, the wind seemed to have picked up somewhat. We were unexpectedly treated to what must be a rare sight. A female Kestrel had caught and was devouring what appeared to be some kind of small mouse. She was eating not very far from the hide and was giving some lovely ‘photo opportunities to the people armed with cameras in the hide. Down swooped a young male Kestrel who proceeded to try to take the ‘mouse’ from the female. She was having none of it! There followed quite a fierce struggle for the food that lasted only a few moments but was well contested by both parties. The female kept her prize and the male ‘sulked’ a few feet away, pretending to be pouncing on other small creatures!
We made our way back to the shop via the feeding station and the smaller hides where Leon bought some food for his bird table/feeder.
This being Leons’ birthday, we decided not to stay too long in the ‘office’ as he had a dinner engagement later in the day. After a few pints and some good discussion on what we had seen we made our way homeward.
BIRDS SEEN: Kestrel, Greenfinch, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Cormorant, Lapwing, Coot, Moorhen, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Heron, Shoveller, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Teal, Ruddy Duck, Stock Dove, Jay, Blackbird, Robin, Green Woodpecker, Mute Swan, Gadwall, Pochard, Stonechat, Sparrowhawk, Little Grebe, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Ring Necked Parakeet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Wigeon, Common Snipe, Dunnock, Wren.

A QUIET BACKWATER

2006-10-14T20:02:00.000+01:00

A QUIET BACKWATER

Photo: Reg Norman

STUNNED STONECHAT

2006-10-08T20:11:00.000+01:00

8th OCTOBER 2006.

STUNNED STONECHAT

I arrived late at the WWT today as I had been to Staines Reservoir to see the Black Necked Grebe that was there. It was my first ‘purpose’ visit and proved to be good fun although a combination of Sunday Timetables and just missing a train, resulting in an hours wait, did take the shine off it a little! Still, I got to see the Grebe! Whilst waiting on Ashford Station, Leon ‘phoned me to say that he had seen a Pied Wagtail (strangely absent from WWT for some time) whilst traversing Bodmin Moor on the way to Lands End (Leon, not the bird).
Having finally reached WWT I went straight to the Observatory. There was not much about at all. The weather was very god for this time of the year and was actually improving as the day went on so I did expect to see some ‘action’.
The ‘Summer Walk’ was a little quiet and the same applied for the ‘Wildside’ hide. All hell suddenly broke loose as I settled to wait for something to happen. The whole of the hide seemed to erupt as a horde of ‘little darlings’ came screaming in and proceeded to run rampage around the hide. I am all for the idea of teaching youngsters about wildlife, but observing it not living it! The parents should be horsewhipped. Most ‘birders’ left the hide and moved along.
At the ‘Headley’ hide there was a group of ‘scopers who seemed to be having a good time. They were full of comments like “Great view” and “Lucky there!” “What was it?” I asked eagerly. “Oh, it’s gone now” and “Shame, you missed it!” was all the response I received as they vanished outside. I wonder what it was?
I was going to have breakfast having been up since the crack of dawn but the noise and the uncontrolled behaviour of the ‘little darlings’ put me off, so I carried on to the ‘Dulverton’ hide. Again it seemed very quiet here. Was it because I had arrived so much later than usual? Perhaps the birds had all had their breakfast and were lying low! At the ‘feeder’ area things started to pick up with lots of Finches and Tits making an entrance. There were more of the same as I walked around the ‘Lagoon’. There was much commotion behind me and I could see shapes moving about, unfortunately I was looking straight into the Sun so could make no positive identification.
The ‘Wader Scrape’ hide was full and there was plenty for the folks there to look at. There were about twenty people in there, more at one time than I had ever seen. I suppose it was lucky that Leon was not with us or there would have been beggar all!
Some of the ‘regulars’ were in the ‘Peacock Tower’; they had not seen anything unusual. The Snipe were still about and were feeding at the far edge of the ‘Scrape’. There were also a couple of pairs or so of Stonechats on one of the islands. One of the ‘regulars’ let me have a look through his ‘scope at them. Once I had their position fixed I could look at them through my glasses although with not such good results. Other people were looking through the chaps ‘scope, it really is nice of these people to let so many have ‘a quick look’. As everybody was focussed on the Stonechats I noticed a swiftly moving shape coming in from over the ‘Scrape’ hide. “Sparrowhawk!” I said. I had said it a little late for one of the Stonechats. The hawk had dropped straight on it and landed immediately. He had obviously not killed the thing as it was fluttering around in the sparse undergrowth and he proceeded to chase it all over the place! This bird seemed to have a white patch on the back of his neck/head so we thought that it might be the same one that we saw on the ‘Grazing Marsh’ last week We saw him take off but could not discern whether he had the small bird with him or not. I am of the pinion that he must be quite young and inexperienced.
Feeling quite tired I made my way back to the Centre where I got some of the new ‘Events’ brochures for some people at the hospital. Just a few ‘relaxers’ at the ‘office’ and I was on my way home to a lovely hot dinner.
BIRDS SEEN: Great Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Heron, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Shoveller, Wood Pigeon, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, Green Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Gadwall, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Black Headed Gull, Starling, Cormorant, Goldfinch, Magpie, Herring Gull, Teal, Pochard, Long Tailed tit, Robin, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Stonechat, Sparrowhawk, Common Snipe.

ENJOYING THE LAGOON IN SUMMER

2006-10-04T22:13:00.000+01:00

SUMMER LAGOON.

Photo: Reg Norman

INCLEMENT WEATHER

2006-10-04T19:36:00.000+01:00

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.

A CHILLY NOVEMBER MORNING

2006-10-04T19:29:00.000+01:00

FROZEN SEED.

Photo: Reg Norman

EARLY CLOSING

2006-10-04T19:24:00.000+01:00

28th September 2006

EARLY CLOSING

The Centre was to close at 1800 hrs today, the late opening and Barbeques finished last week. Leon and I left work and hurried to get changed before setting off. The ‘bus seemed to take forever so we decided to walk the first part of the journey in the hope of picking up one of the other buses available from Barnes Station. We arrived at WWT at four o’clock. We had a quick look in the Observatory, nothing much about. For the next two hours we were dashing about like mad things trying to fit in as many stops at hides and visiting all of our favourite viewing points. The result was that we didn’t see as much as we would have done if we had had a little more time. We resolved to take some days off as the migrant season gets into full swing. It would probably be better to concentrate on, perhaps, two hides for our shorter visits!
Having walked around the ‘Lagoon’ we entered the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide. The water level was well down and there were a good number of birds scattered around the area. In fact there were a lot more birds here than at any other time that we have visited. What was lacking in variety was certainly made up for by the sheer numbers. The maestro made his move. Having undone the catches on the window, Leon let the thing fall! In the silence, the noise of the window crashing down was like a gun going off! The scene following this reminded me of an old ‘Tarzan’ film set in Africa! The part where the huge flocks of Flamingo’s take off in panic. Within just a few seconds there were absolutely no birds to be seen, just the odd feather floating gently down. ”Whoops!” came a muffled whisper after a short pause. Why he was whispering I shall never know. There couldn’t have been a bird in earshot!
We moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’. My day improved in leaps and bounds. We met a chap who knew EVERYTHING about the Centre and birds. He proceeded to impart his vast knowledge including his sighting of a Caspian Gull by Barnes Bridge!
After buying some stuff for Leons’ bird table, we moved on to the ‘office’ where we discussed the relative importance of approaching birds in a quiet manner and how best to locate and view the ‘Caspian Gull’.
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Magpie, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Robin, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Starling, Shoveller, Little Grebe, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Pochard, Carrion Crow, Heron, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Cormorant, Coal Tit, Willow Warbler, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Jay, Common Snipe, Ring Necked Parakeet, Stock Dove, Ruddy Duck, Lapwing, Canada Goose, Whooper Swan, Common Gull, Mute Swan.

LOOKING EAST ACROSS THE WADER SCRAPE

2006-10-04T19:17:00.000+01:00

THE WADER SCRAPE.

Photo: Reg Norman

NOISE POLLUTION

2006-09-30T21:53:00.000+01:00

21st September 2006

NOISE POLLUTION

Well, I have not uploaded anything four about four months or so. I have been offline for most of this time for various reasons. I am still offline as I write this piece with the hope that all problems will be resolved soon.
Leon and I have been to the WWT many times and we seem to have been quite lucky each time that we have been there. We have seen many birds, being especially lucky in the number of raptors that we have seen. Leon just seems to have the knack of seeing them before everybody else! Except, that is, when you try to point one out to him! He always manages to keep the bird directly behind him! One of our best days must be when we were treated to about an hours worth of flying display by a pair of Hobbies. We had seen them on several occasions but only fleetingly. On this particular day it seemed that wherever we stood we were in exactly the right place!
Today was like many others of our days at the centre. We finished work at about three o’clock, went home to change, and then went to the Centre. It was the last night of late openings and so would be the last of the Summer Barbeques. There was quite a good crowd all around the site and many children were using the new ‘Explore’ area.
After visiting the Observatory we moved quickly on to the ‘Wildside’ hide. There was not much to be seen as there were several chaps working on the meadow area with heavy cutting machines so that most of the birds had moved to the far end of the lake. We stayed for a short while, but, realising we were not going to see too much we moved back to the ‘Hedley’ hide. Again, there was not much to see (apart from a Sparrowhawk that flashed past Leons head!) as the disturbance caused by the work in progress was much more widely spread than we thought. We moved on to the Waterlife area.
Once at the Waterlife area we started to see more birds. We could hardly hear the men working on the far side of the site and the birds seem to have gotten used to the sound of ‘the little darlings’ in the ‘Explore’ play area. There was quite a stiff breeze so we noticed that many of the waterbirds were keeping in the lee of the islands. We were a little disappointed when we reached the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide to find that the water level was quite high. You never seem to see much variety of species here until the water level goes down a little. Having said that we were able to observe three Snipe feeding quite clearly. Both Leon and I have noticed that the Snipe here seem to feed fairly openly. A fact born out by the fact that lots of the vegetation had been cleared from the islands. Still missing were the Pied Wagtails. Apart from one quick glimpse, about two weeks ago, we have seen nothing of them.
With everything seemingly against us we decided to make a move back to the shop where Leon purchased some seed for his birdfeeder. From there we made our way to ‘the office’ where, in time honoured tradition, we talked over the afternoons’ events lubricated with a few jars of relaxant.
BIRDS SEEN: Feral Pigeon, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Mallard, Cormorant, Canada Goose, Little grebe, Tufted Duck, Heron, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Pochard, Carrion Crow, Greylag Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Wood Pigeon, Lapwing, Shoveller, Teal, House Martin, jay, Magpie, Starling, Widgeon, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Sparrowhawk, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Robin, Greenfinch, Ring Necked Parakeet, Green Woodpecker, Common Snipe, Whooper Swan, Stock Dove, Wren, Blackbird.

'ALBERT'

2006-09-30T21:37:00.000+01:00

Photo: Leon Rusk

DIGISCOPING HOBBY!

2006-09-30T21:26:00.000+01:00

28th April 2006

DIGISCOPING HOBBY!

Sue and I were supposed to be going to Wakehurst Place today but the weather seemed a bit on the rainy side so we decided not to risk it. I made arrangements to meet up with Leon for a trip to the WWT instead. We met at about twenty past nine and went on whilst Sue would catch us up later on.
The Observatory, of course, was the first stop where we were pleased to note that the Avocets were still attending their nest. We have been told that the birds are only young and may lay sterile eggs; we keep our fingers crossed anyway!
The weather had actually brightened up somewhat and there were any birds in evidence. From the ‘Wildide ‘hide we could see many of the ‘old favourites’ enjoying the nice break in the weather. The walk up to the hide had been good as well. We took the ‘Summer Walk’ and were pleased to see many smaller birds moving about in the trees and shrubs. Everywhere flowers were bursting open, I could recognise quite a few now following the ‘Wildlife Walk’ that I enjoyed recently. There was a good number of people about as well, many of whom seemed to be quite knowledgeable about flowers, wildlife or both.
We made our way back to the Centre to meet Sue just before half past ten stopping at the ‘Headley’ hide on the way. Again there was quite a lot to see and the hide was quite busy. There were many people who were obviously keen photographers; some had enormous backpacks that were filled with wonderful looking equipment.
The restaurant was our next stop, we thought that Sue had still not arrived and so settled down to have a coffee. Leon decided to have a breakfast and while he was getting it I ‘phoned Sue to see where she was. She had obviously passed us when we were in the ‘Headley’ hide as she was just leaving the ‘Wildside’ hide! She then made her way back to join us at the restaurant. She had been busy ‘snapping’ flowers already and would go on to take over two hundred pictures!
Walking through the ‘Waterlife’ area both Leon and myself expressed the wish to see at least one raptor today as we had not seen one on at least our last two visits. Leon was very positive. “ We will see one!” he said. Up popped a Kestrel! How DOES he do it! We visited the ‘Dulverton’ and ‘WWT’ hides, both of which were very busy with a good mix of ‘serious’ birders and what appeared to be people who were just giving the place the ‘once-over’.
The weather was very changeable, although it did not rain it was intermittently very cloudy or very sunny! The birds seemed to like it and there was much birdsong, more than I had heard for some time. Once again this birdsong led us to see birds that we might have missed and we were grateful that we had gone on the ‘Birdsong’ walks.
Walking around the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ we were pleased to see that there was a ‘window’ through to the feeder area once again and there were lots of Tits and Finches on view.
From the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide we could see very little: although there was a good number of people actually in the hide. Outside, there was a terrific commotion in the hedgerow, it sounded as if some of the Crows were giving the thrashing of a lifetime to some poor victim, or perhaps worse. We couldn’t actually see anything; we waited for a while and left when the noise died down and the Crows returned to the trees, still making quite a din as they went.
Moving to the ‘Peacock Tower’ we were able to see the rest of the ‘Wader Scrape’ itself and still there was not much on show. People were starting to drift away although some of the chaps with the bigger telescopes were to stay on for quite some time. Sue was on the lower level and had set up her new telescope and was taking ‘photos. It really is a terrific thing and I am not a little envious! The fact that she got it for what I would say was a gift also added to its’ appeal! (Upon reaching home, Sue uploaded her pictures to her laptop. For a first attempt at ‘digiscoping’ she had done marvellously well and I hope that she will allow me to use some of her pictures on this site!)
Leon had spent most of the time at the Tower scanning the ‘Grazing Marsh’ and ‘Reedbeds’ for signs of the Hobby that has been frequenting the place of late. Unfortunately he was to be out of luck.
Deciding to make our way home, Leon went ahead as he had a little shopping to do. We arranged to meet at the ‘Red Lion’ where we had lots to talk about. As Sue and I were making our way past the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ the Hobby turned up! I tried to point it out to Sue but I think she was looking for something rather larger than it actually is. I didn’t get much of a viewing as I was trying to help Sue, it was there and then it was gone.
At ‘the office’ I nearly didn’t have the heart to tell Leon about the Hobby but felt that it was my duty as a friend. So I mentioned it several times. We spent a couple of hours discussing the photos and videos that Sue and Leon had shot and also discussing some of the birds in ‘Collins’. My copy seems to open at ‘Hobby’ every time!
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Heron, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, House Martin, Starling, Great Crested Grebe, Wood Pigeon, Mute Swan, Gadwall, Little Ringed Plover, Dunnock, Feral Pigeon, Common Tern, Canada Goose, Sand Martin, Greenfinch, Lapwing, Avocet, Robin, Ring Necked Parakeet, Chaffinch, Swift, Whooper Swan, Ruddy Duck, Reed Bunting, Little Grebe, Pochard, Greylag Goose, Carrion Crow, Reed Warbler, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Kestrel, Stock Dove, Coal Tit, Garden Warbler, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Black Headed Gull, Hobby, House Sparrow, Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird.

LIGHT PHENOMENON (see 'Bats about Bats')

2006-09-30T21:13:00.000+01:00

Photo: Leon Rusk

BATS ABOUT BATS

2006-09-30T21:02:00.000+01:00

25th April 2006

BATS ABOUT BATS

Expectations were high as Leon and I waited for the bus to WWT and the ‘Big Batty Evening’. For the last two days it had been raining pretty consistently and the winds had been very strong. Today, however, was much different with virtually a clear sky and it was very warm. We conjectured that it would be a good night for bat watching. The bus turned up pretty quickly and we arrived at the Centre just before five o’clock. Sue would be joining just after six o’clock and Tim and John were supposed to meet us a little later. Tim couldn’t make it in the end. He had to watch England ‘d’ versus Romania ‘d’ or something equally as important. John was stuck at work and, although desperate to join us, was destined not to join us either.
Our first stop, once we reached the Centre, was the Observatory where we were pleased to see the female Avocet planted firmly on her nest. We were to learn, a little later in the evening, that they were a young pair and so might produce infertile eggs. We hope that this is not the case as it has been a real pleasure to have such beautiful birds around.
The ‘Wildside’ hide was our next stop and we spent about forty minutes there. I had to take my jumper off as it was proving to be a very warm evening. We had a good view of many species, all seemingly enjoying themselves in the late-afternoon sunshine.
We met up with Sue at the Centre just after six o’clock and took her straight to the Observatory to see the Avocets. This was a good chance to show off her new spotting ‘scope. Whilst we were there three Shelduck landed next to the long island, stayed for about thirty seconds, and then took off again! We pointed out the Little Ringed Plovers sitting on their nests. Whilst watching them Sue spotted a little red-breasted bird and so asked what it was. To our delight she had spotted a Linnet, a first for the three of us!
‘Waterlife’ was the next on the list, as Sue wanted to take the opportunity to photograph some of the Spring flowers. The Oxeye daisies were he most abundant, in great swathes wherever one looked. While she was busy with the plants Leon and I were noting many small birds in the small trees and shrubs. We had a walk around the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’, hoping to see at least one type of Woodpecker but (although we would see one later in the day) to no avail. The male Avocet was feeding on the ‘Wader Scrape’ and we got a good view of him from the like-named hide. Unfortunately we could see little else as the sun was reflecting off the water, so we moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’.
Once there we had a much better view of the ‘Scrape’ but to attempt to look westwards toward the Centre was impossible due to the glare. There was plenty to see, however, including two foxes at different ends of the site. They were both intent on the Canada Goose nests in their respective areas but were having little or no success.
Moving back to the restaurant for a quick coffee before we went in to the ‘Theatre’, we saw many people gathering for the first of the seasons Bar-B-Q and concert events. On the way back we were treated to a most unusual sight. There was what appeared to be a ‘rainbow’ around part of the Sun. It was very similar to the ring that you get around the moon, particularly in the Winter. Could this be something to do with air pollution? The colours certainly seemed to point to something in the atmosphere. Leon thought that it might be due to water particles in the air, there was some light cloud about at the time. Both Sue and Leon attempted to take ‘photos of this phenomenon, if any come out well enough I will post the best one on this blog.
The talk and slide-show about bats lasted about half an hour and being divided into groups of roughly ten and allocated a leader, we assembled in the courtyard prior to moving off.
It soon became evident that we might be in for a very good night as far as bats were concerned! The bat detectors, provided by WWT, were soon crackling away with the sound of Pipistrelle bats. There were plenty of them about and in the fading light you could see them flying about, some only a few feet from our heads. Kath, our group leader, confirmed what Len and I had thought earlier in he day. The bats had been unable to feed for two days and were making an early start. The insects, too, had been unable to feed and so were about in great numbers. The result, luckily for us, was carnage! Leaving the Centre we retraced our steps back through ‘Waterlife’ through a gathering gloom as the clouds were starting to gather. We were directed to keep on the path close to the ‘Main Lake’ as the bats would be feeding above the hedges. This turned out to be true; the sheer number of bats that we heard and saw was quite astonishing. We were joined at this point by another ‘guest’, Tom, a cat that seems to have adopted the WT site and its’ staff!
Moving on to the ‘Peacock Tower’ we were continually ‘dive-bombed’ by bats, many of them passing only inches from our heads! Their numbers increased steadily, with both Common and Soprano Pipistrelles in evidence. He evening finished with a walk around the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ hoping to both hear and see another bat, the Daubenton. This bat skims along the surface of the water hunting insects, but unfortunately we were not to se it tonight.
We stopped for a few quick pints at ‘the office’ before, wearily, making our way home.
BIRDS SEEN: avocet, Greenfinch, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Starling, Mallard, Wood Pigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Common Tern, Mute Swan, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Canada Goose, Ruddy Duck, Lapwing, Redshank, Carrion Crow, Sand Martin, House Martin, House Sparrow, Swallow, Swift, Pochard, Little Grebe, Heron, Cormorant, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Black Headed Gull, Little Ringed Plover, Linnet, Shelduck, Gadwall, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Blue Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, Wren, Blackbird, Dunlin, Greylag Goose, Whitethroat, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Whooper Swan, Robin.

WHISPERING GRASS?

2006-09-30T20:54:00.000+01:00

Photo: Leon Rusk

A NEW MEMBER

2006-09-30T20:26:00.000+01:00

22nd April 2006

A NEW MEMBER

I had been looking forward to this day for some time as I was to meet Leons’ brother, Terry, for the first time. Leon had arranged to meet Terry at about ten o’clock, which meant that we had time for a short lie-in! We arrived at the site in good time to meet Terry and even had time for a quick chat with some of the staff before the first of the school groups arrived.
The first place that we checked was the Observatory. I had see the Avocets, perhaps, preparing a nest site last Saturday. The female was definitely sitting and so we have our fingers crossed.
Having checked the Observatory we moved on taking Terry along the same sort of route that we would normally follow. The weather was rather inclement with lots of showers and quite a strong wind, although the latter varied in strength and duration by quite some degree.
At the ‘Wildside’ hide we were not surprised to see that there was not much about, most birds seemed to be concentrating on staying out of the wind and rain. Once again the Martins and Swifts seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves!
As Terry had to go to work in the afternoon, we made a quick sortie to the restaurant before moving on to the ‘Waterlife’ area. Again there was not much on show but I did get the impression that Terry was enjoying himself, in fact, most things that he saw would bring back old memories or facts, long stored away, which made for quite a stimulating conversation! As we made our way around the site it became quite apparent that this was not a day for many sightings. Most birds had more sense than us and were tucked up somewhere away from the main effects of the elements. The water level at the ‘Wader Scrape’ would normally, in my opinion, have guaranteed that there would be some large numbers of birds on show. There were a few Redshank, Lapwing and Little Ringed Plovers but little else.
Wendy and one of her colleagues from the WWT were at the tower counting birds and it was nice to see the methodical way in which they went about their business.
As Terry had to go to work later in the afternoon, Leon and I walked him back to the Centre via the ‘Dulverton’ and ‘WWT’ hides. Although there was not much on show at least Terry was beginning to grasp the layout of the site he also seemed to be enjoying himself and this was confirmed back at the Centre where he signed up as a full member before heading off!
After Terry had gone we made our way, via the Observatory to look for Lapwing chicks, back to the ‘Wildside’ hide. This was because both Leon and I wanted to see if the Hobby was to put in an appearance. It had been logged in a little earlier as we had seen in the book in the shop area.
It had grown even windier, surely much too windy for any of the larger birds to be flying around trying to hunt. After almost an hour we gave up and started to make our way back to the centre, where Leon bought some bits and pieces for his feeder before we left.
We popped into ‘the office’ for a few beers and a chat. We had now been on all of the various ‘walks’ apart from this coming Thursdays’ ‘Big Batty Walk’ and so needed to discuss booking any others that we might want to book up for. As we were leaving we bumped into Rupert who had been down to Selsey to see some Storm Petrels, uncommon this far west by all accounts. He seemed jolly pleased to have seen them. We spent a few minutes with him, chatting about this and that, before making our way home.
BIRDS SEEN: House Martin, House Sparrow, Swift, Starling, Blackbird, Coot, Moorhen, Little Ringed Plover, Avocet, Tufted Duck, Redshank, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Wood Pigeon, Mallard, Herring Gull, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Greenfinch, Little Grebe, Heron, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Gadwall, Blue Tit, Robin, Coal Tit, Pied wagtail, Stock Dove, Black Headed Gull, Cormorant, Ruddy duck, Dunnock, Sedge Warbler, Shoveller, Pochard, Green Woodpecker, Ring Necked Parakeet, Magpie, Sand Martin, Swallow, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Common Tern,

'WILDSIDE' HIDE TOWARDS HARRODS VILLAGE

2006-09-30T20:17:00.000+01:00

Photo: Leon Rusk

FEEDING AVOCETS

2006-09-30T17:09:00.000+01:00

Leon and I had booked onto a ‘Wildlife Walk’ today but, unfortunately, he was unable to make it due to other commitments. The weather, being rather inclement, almost decided that I would not go either as I thought that there would probably not be much about. It seemed to brighten up as the morning went on so I thought that I would give it a try. I arrived at about half past twelve, giving me a half-hours’ leeway and ‘mooch’ time. I checked in and went immediately to the Observatory. I a glad that I did because the Avocets were on the long island right in front me! I learned later that Mrs Avocet has been seen ‘scraping’ on the island, a pointer towards laying? All around were birds sitting on nests, surely the Mute Swans’ eggs must be about to hatch by now, she’s been at it for ages.
At one o’clock I was in position to meet the rest of the group and the guide. Pleasantries over, we made a move through the ‘Wildside’ area. This is the first time that I have started a ‘walk’ going in this direction. As usual, the guide really knew his stuff and kept up an almost constant narration as we moved about, stopping only to answer questions that were being fired at him at very short intervals. What I found particularly interesting was the way he pointed out the flowers that were now breaking into flower all over the site. Many were the names that I recognised but not the actual flowers. Next year I will ‘bone-up’ on flowers in an attempt to be ready for the spring ‘explosion’.
It was by now raining on and off every twenty minutes or so, I had put my lightweight coat on before we started as there was a bit of wind getting up. I was glad that I had, as it was quite chilly as well. The wind was keeping most of the small birds well down in the undergrowth, watching carefully rewarded me with some god views of some birds that would normally been out in the open.
Once at the hide we were sheltered and soon warmed up, it was just a shame that there wasn’t too much about for the guide to point out. As the group started to make its way out of the hide, one of the chaps who had been there before we arrived pointed out a small bird to me. It moved very quickly along a reedbank on the ‘Grazing Marsh’, my very first sighting of a Hobby! Perhaps he was hunting for one of the dragonflies that had been pointed out to us by our guide. I really must learn more about the insects as well!
The ‘walk’ being over, most people went to the restaurant to get a hot drink but I went straight on to the other side of the site. So far I had been disappointed with the number of birds that I had seen. On reflection, I should not have been surprised as the wind was pretty strong and I had already noticed that they were well down in the cover. Very few birds were actually flying about although the House Martins and Swifts seemed to be having a whale of a time. There could not have been many insects about so the little birds just appeared to be really enjoying themselves! Certainly their aerobatic displays were marvellous to watch! Several time I thought that they were about to crash into me.
Another great sighting! From the ‘WWT’ hide I saw another (the same?) Peregrine. The chap in the hide with me said that he had seen it many times and was now a frequent visitor to the site. I told him about the Hobby that I had seen. “Seen nearly every day, now!” he said.
I walked around the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ and, by watching in the undergrowth, was able to see quite a few of our small friends moving about although hardly any of them were singing. One exception was a Blackcap who was belting out his particular number, kindly leading me to him so that I could add his name to ‘birds seen’ for the day!
At the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide I was pleased to see that the Avocets had forsaken the long island in front of the Observatory and were now feeding on the exposed mud of the scrape. There was very little else about though, perhaps the Avocets are more used to conditions reminiscent of the East coast of our country?
Moving to the ‘Peacock Tower’ I spent most of the rest of the afternoon just watching this and that. The wind by now was really strong, all the birds on the main lake were facing into the wind and paddling like Billy-o, some not making very much headway. One of the chaps in the tower mentioned that a Hobby and a Peregrine had been sighted earlier on in the day. I bit my tongue, struggling not to tell him that they were now, apparently, two-a-penny in these parts!
On the way out I popped into the Observatory for one last look about. On the fence running along the ‘Wildside’ area were a family of (10) baby Starlings, obviously on their first foray away from the nest. They were sheltered from the, now subsiding, wind by some large shrubs and trees although they still had to hold on tightly. The parents were flying backwards and forwards with a never-ending supply of food. With ten mouths to feed it makes you marvel at how they manage!
I noticed, on the wall, a list of birds seen in the last month. It would appear that Hobbies and Peregrines ARE two-a penny!
I did not stop at ‘the office’ as it was getting late and so made m way home. What had started out as an unpromising day had turned out to be very enjoyable!
BIRDS SEEN: House Martin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Pochard, Pied Wagtail, Common Tern, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Reed Warbler, Ring Necked Parakeet, Swift, Great Crested Grebe, Sand Martin, Avocet, Canada Goose, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Heron, Ruddy Duck, Robin, Greylag Goose, Blackbird, Gadwall, Long Tailed Tit, Blackcap, Hobby, Herring Gull, Reed Bunting, Wren, Peregrine, Swallow, Shoveller, Starling, Whooper Swan.

ACROSS THE GRAZING MARSH FROM THE 'WILDSIDE' HIDE

2006-09-30T17:01:00.000+01:00

Photo: Leon Rusk

A RED EARED TERRAPIN

2006-09-28T23:27:00.000+01:00

A funny day today. Once again I was not expecting to go to WWT but as the weather seemed quite nice and I thought that there would not be too many screaming kids about I decided to just go and have a quiet ‘mooch’ about. In no particular hurry I had breakfast before leaving home and arrived at about half past ten.
I decided to follow the pattern of moving around the site usually taken by Leon and myself and so moved off towards the ‘Wildside’ hide. The weather by now was very warm indeed, most people in shirtsleeve order. I stopped on the second bridge before the hide and watched some Coots starting to build a nest. In one corner of the smallish area of water I could see what I took to be a large, black football. I looked at it through my binoculars; it was definitely black and had markings like a large football. When its’ head moved I thought maybe it wasn’t a football after all! It was, in fact, an enormous Red Eared Terrapin. I had seen them before but nothing like as big as this one! I ‘phoned the WWT office to inform them of their ‘visitor’, expressing my concern for what it might do to the wildlife in the area. I was told that somebody would come along to check the situation. Having been into the hide for about half an hour I was making my way back to the Centre, passing quite a few people in waders. I said to one chap “ You’ll need the gun!” Not a glimmer. I secretly hoped that the terrapin would get him.
The rest of the day passed well enough, the weather remained fine and I saw my first Whitethroat and Ringed Plover. A chap tried to point out the differences in plumage of the various Gulls. I thoroughly enjoyed just ‘mooching about. Even the birds seemed to be enjoying themselves; they certainly put on a lovely vocal display for everybody! Talking of displays, a Sedge Warbler put on the most fantastic display and sang his heart out directly in front of the ‘Peacock Tower’.
I popped into ‘the office’ to savour a couple of pints whilst trying to get my head around the different plumage patterns for different ages of seagulls. I eventually gave up, thinking that it might be better to practice this ‘in the field’, so to speak.
BIRDS SEEN: Swift, Mallard, Canada Goose, Starling, Tufted Duck, Coot, Carrion Crow, Common Tern, Herring Gull, House Martin, Heron, Whooper Swan, Lapwing, Moorhen, Greylag Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Wood Pigeon, Ruddy Duck, Sand Martin, Mute Swan, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting, Wren, Magpie, Robin, Greater Black Backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Kestrel, Yellow Legged Gull, Green Woodpecker, Ring Necked Parakeet, Long Tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Common Snipe, Stock Dove, Cormorant, Ringed Plover ,Coal Tit, Little Grebe, Pochard, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Song Thrush.

THE WEIR FROM THE PEACOCK TOWER

2006-09-28T23:21:00.000+01:00

SECOND BIRDSONG WALK

2006-05-10T23:00:00.000+01:00

This was to be the second ‘Identifying Birds by their Songs’ walk for both Leon and I. We had enjoyed the first one so much that we would probably have booked again anyway but, although we had scratched the surface of the knowledge available, we realised many more sessions of teaching and practice would be needed. The first walk had taught us a little and it did help greatly with our finding and recognising birds; we were recording slightly more different species with every visit.
We met, as usual, at about nine o’clock. Our light rain jackets had been packed because the forecast was none too good. There were some spots of rain in the air but it was generally quite pleasant and warm.
The bus turned up quite quickly so that we arrived in time to have a quick mooch up to the ‘Dulverton’ hide for about a quarter of an hour before the start of the walk. There did not seem to be much about but we did notice that the weather seemed to be improving rapidly.
At the meeting point for the walk we were pleased to see that the chap taking the walk was Rupert; we had been greatly impressed with his knowledge and skills on the first walk and this boded well for todays’.
We set off along ‘Waterlife’, as we had done previously, Rupert quickly into his ‘routine’. There seemed to be more different birds about this time and with the weather brightening up they were giving a wonderful exhibition of songs and calls. I am sure that our guide has heard all of these songs thousands of times before but, for us novices, each new song and call were fascinating and wonderful. All too soon the walk was over. A couple of people arrived very late on; in fact they were only with us for about ten minutes. I do hope that they book again next year, as they don’t know what they have missed!
Leon was “Hank Marvin” so we made our way to the restaurant, only to find that they stop doing breakfast ay 11 o’clock. He made do with a sandwich of sorts but it was no substitute for the real thing!
After ‘breakfast’ we started to cover the whole site in our usual manner, visiting the hides and strolling about in no particular hurry. The weather had now improved to the point where I needed to stay in the shade at times. There were large parties of school children running about in the sunshine, their teachers trying to impress upon them how lucky they were to have such wonderful resource. Many of them were probably much too young to understand but, nevertheless, were enjoying the freedom of being outside on such a lovely day!
They were not the only ones! There seemed to be a lovely relaxing atmosphere all around. We took everything very steadily and I suppose not having to be stuck inside at work added greatly to the enjoyment of the day. Bird-wise, the day turned out to be like many others we had experienced; nothing out of the ordinary but just watching the ones that we saw was more than pleasant.
The only slight disappointment of the day was the fact that the water level in the ‘Wader Scrape’ was very high. Consequently there were not very many waders on view. There was no sign of the Avocets; we do hope that they have not been put off staying here.
As novices we are always grateful for any advice that the ‘old hands’ give us. Too, we like to share anything that we can with people who appear to have even less experience than we do. On this particular occasion there was a lady in the ‘Peacock Tower’ who, although obviously enjoying herself immensely, had little or no idea about the different birds on view or, indeed, their habits. It was lovely, therefore, to be able to point out one or two things that might be of interest to her throwing in the odd snippet of information that might increase her knowledge and enjoyment. A Wheatear was most accommodating, standing still for some time so that the lady could get a good look. It was then that Leon spotted a Snipe well hidden in some foliage. “What is it?” I asked. “ Can’t tell at the moment, sure it’s a Common but can’t see its’ head” was the reply. The lady had the bird pointed out to her, she asking why seeing the head would be helpful. Leon pointed out the difference in the length of the bill, and I the difference in the markings. Then it happened. Leon looked straight at the lady and said “JACK SNIPE WALK FUNNY!” I knew where he was coming from. The lady went pale; I think it was Leons’ fingers, goose-stepping along the shelf towards her, maybe the moronic, murderer-type voice used in the delivery added to the menace. She just left. Fast. I KNEW where he was coming from. With a little thought it may even have been funny.
We decided to make our way to the ‘Red Lion’ for a few pints and to discuss all that we had learned on this beautiful day. We had to stop at the shop, as Leon wanted some seeds for his feeders. All the time we were there I had one eye on the door, waiting for the Police to storm in, guns at the ready!
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Mute Swan, Ring Necked Parakeet, Magpie, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Tree Sparrow, Lapwing, Wood Pigeon, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Sand Martin, House Martin, Little Ringed Plover, Carrion Crow, Pochard, Heron, Great Tit, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Swift, Long Tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Dunnock, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Goldfinch, Kestrel, Gadwall, Wheatear, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Cormorant, Shoveller, Common Snipe, Common Tern, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Wren, House Sparrow.

WETLANDS TUNNEL

2006-05-08T19:55:00.000+01:00

LEON AND REG.

Photo: Sue Blair

EARLY MORNING EVENT.

2006-05-08T17:50:00.000+01:00

The rain that had been falling steadily since yesterday evening had not long stopped. We were waiting, at three forty five in the morning, for the cab that would take us to the WWT. We had chosen to take the cab because neither Leon nor myself were sure how reliable the night-bus service might be. As we waited the odd student, still worse for wear, snaked out of the college and away down the Lane.
The cab was late but we still managed to get to the Centre a few minutes before the event start time of four o’clock. Both Leon and I were astonished by the amount of noise generated by the Marsh Frogs. How the people living nearby got any sleep is a complete mystery. Apparently there were to be several different parties, each moving off several minutes apart. The guides for our particular party were called Wendy and Dan.
We set off just after four; it was still fairly dark and not at all chilly. The birds had, of course, already started singing. In fact we had been listening to them whilst awaiting our cab. We stopped every now and then for Wendy or Dan to point out various birdcalls. Many were instantly recognisable and some we thought that we knew after the walk with Rupert a couple of weeks ago. We were both glad that we had booked a place on this walk, again it was good to hear the experts chatting happily about the subject they love and the centre has a lovely feeling about it when it is dark. The calls of the waders have a kind of eeriness about them. The only thing that was a little annoying was the constant mumblings and chatting of some of the members. At some points it was loud enough to drown what the guides were saying. We both, however, did manage learn to recognise some more birdsongs.
The party stopped at the ‘Peacock Tower’ and, in the early morning light, we were able to see that the Avocets were still in residence, their brilliant-white plumage cutting through the grey morning gloom.
We spent about half an hour at the tower and, as the party seemed to have fragmented somewhat, Leon and I struck out on our own (as many others had it would appear) and made our way to the ‘Wildside’ hide. Everywhere about us the birds had now started to sing at full volume, the ‘Dawn Chorus’ at its glorious best. I am glad to say that we could now pick out most of the birds that were calling although there were some that we did not know.
At the hide we were able to watch the birds as they busied themselves for another day of finding food, courting and, of course, squabbling. Here, too, we were surprised by the noise of the Marsh Frogs, although not continuous any longer they burst into raucous life every ten minutes or so. Again I felt for the residents nearby, although I must admit that I would swap that sound for that of the ‘planes coming in to land at Heathrow.
Breakfast was scheduled for seven thirty so we thought that we would go back at eight o’clock, as there would be some serious queuing. We stopped on the way back to the centre, at the ‘Headley Hide’. There were a few ducks about but little else. Perhaps the gulls and Cormorants roost elsewhere and fly in a little later?
At the restaurant we were in for a big surprise. The tables were already being cleared away and it was only just gone eight o’clock! The manager was apologetic but everything was gone! So, not only had they started serving early (they would never have got forty covers served, eating their meal and getting the tables cleared and stacked in thirty minutes!) but they had not prepared enough in the first place! Well, they will not catch me again. I usually have breakfast there every time we visit but never again. We made our way back along ‘Waterlife’ calling in at each hide that we passed. All around, Nature was waking up ready to face a new day and what a lovely one it was. The sun kept breaking through for more extended periods and it was shaping into a lovely warm day. We had both brought our light rain gear but it looked set to stay in our bags.
Leon had to pop out to the newsagents for a short while, he knew somebody who had had an article on Bluebells printed in one of the papers today and was determined not to miss getting a copy! Whilst he was gone I walked around the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ and was able to record many more birds than had been around earlier. There was a Willow Warbler and a Blackcap who seemed determined to outdo each other with their songs. I could have stood there for hours but had made arrangements to meet up with Leon at the ‘Peacock Tower’. I popped into the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide for a few moments noting that the waders were starting to show themselves. The Avocets were still feeding in the channel by the bank alongside the Thames.
I met up with Leon, who must have been on roller-skates to have been back so quickly, on the way to the ‘Peacock Tower’. I informed him that we should get some great views of the Avocets, as they appeared to be moving towards the Tower itself. On the way there we bumped into Wendy, the guide, who asked what we had seen and told us that there was a group of eight Dunlin in the Wader Scrape. I had not been able to see them from the other hide. To have this many is considered unusual here and whilst talking of the unusual we related the story of the Kestrel at the Sandmartin Bank from last week. Wendy (and her companion) were both as surprised as we had been, considering the birds’ usual habits.
We had a wonderful time in the Tower. The Avocets did indeed come in from the far side of the Scrape towards us and we were treated to some lovely views of them. The Dunlin, too, were very easy to watch as they stayed almost directly in front of the Tower, although they moved to a small pool halfway across the Scrape a little later on. They were in their full summer plumage.
On the islands we could see the Little Ringed Plovers sitting on their eggs, the birds being protected by wire cages. There was an abundance of Redshank as well; they gave many displays of courtship and mating. I only saw one Common Sandpiper which was surprising as there had been any number around in the last few weeks. We did add to our list of ‘firsts’ though, a group of Common Terns had moved onto the site and were checking out the floating pontoons as nest sites and giving some great flight displays.
It was now about half past nine, we had been here for five and a half hours and the doors were only just opening for general admission! As the day still had all the promise of being very fine, many youngsters were being brought in by their mums and dads.
We moved back to the ‘Wildside’ hide stopping at all the others on the way. Wherever we looked now there seemed to be lots of ‘action’. Many birds were still nest building while some of the same species had young broods to look after. We spent some time watching some Moorhens feeding their two chicks. They would dive down and retrieve some weed and then hold it up while the youngsters pecked around it.
The Reed Warblers seemed to have grown a little accustomed to having people about as they did not seem to hide themselves way as much as usual. Quite a few of them could be seen moving backwards and forwards with beakfulls of nesting material.
We stayed at the ‘Wildside’ hide for quite some time and must have scanned every inch of the visible site many times. Sometimes it is quite surprising just how busy the birds are at this time of year. There doesn’t seem a moment when they are still, especially the Coots and Moorhens who seem to have added responsibilities. The slightest infringement on their territory sends them into an indignant frenzy, the interlopers seen off in a few moments and, in no time at all as if nothing had happened, they are back to work once again.
Leon remarked that we had seen no raptors today. Although we were about to start making a move towards the ‘office’, I said that I thought that we still had time to see something. Sure enough, as we reached the Centre, a Kestrel flew over circling and hovering above the Main Lake.
We only stayed at the ‘office’ for a couple of quick pints as I had to get to Fulham for the last game of the season against ’Boro. I could see that the early start was beginning to tell as we were generally both quite quiet.
BIRDS SEEN: Lapwing, Avocet, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Coot, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Shoveller, Mallard, Redshank, Starling, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Heron, Sandmartin, Little Ringed Plover, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Little Grebe, Pochard, Common Tern, Gadwall, Wood Pigeon, Great Tit, Robin, Jay, Mute Swan, Ruddy Duck, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Ring Necked Parakeet, Swift, House Sparrow, Teal, Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Warbler, Wren, Blackcap, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Song Thrush, Pied Wagtail, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Black Baked Gull, House Martin, Greenfinch, Kestrel, Stock Dove.

EARLY MORNING EVENT.

TOO CUTE!

2006-05-02T17:49:00.000+01:00

FOURTEEN MOUTHS TO FEED.

Photo: Leon Rusk

BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY.

2006-05-02T17:37:00.000+01:00

Bank Holiday Monday and I wasn’t going to go to the Centre today. I had, however, a really nasty day at work where not much went according to plan and I got extremely wound up. A few hours in the quiet, watching birds, would soon help me to unwind!
By the time that I reached the centre, the crowds (the reason I didn’t want to go in the first place) were beginning to thin out nicely. Having arrived at about a half past three I had about two and a half hours to enjoy. Funnily, just the thought of going had started to help me unwind! To add to the pleasure, a day that had started out quite dismally had now turned out to be quite sunny and warm.
I wouldn’t have had time to go to all of the hides today so I made my way through ‘Waterlife’ towards the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide, stopping only briefly at ‘Dulverton’ and ‘WWF’. The water level was a little higher than it was yesterday and a slight breeze was forming little ripples on the surface. I was pleased to see that the Avocets were still around and noticed that some of the Little Ringed plovers seem to have started nesting on the pebble strewn islands.
I moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’, where there were quite a few people mostly intent on watching the Avocets. I spent most of my time here, scanning the whole of the site, and, when a seat became available watching the Avocets and the mating Redshanks.
As I was about to leave I spotted a Common Snipe. It was not in the usual cover of dry stems but, rather, amongst some low growing (about four inches high) stubby bits of vegetation. The bird was all but invisible! It took me some time to point the bird out to some of the, by now, last remaining observers. Some people could only make the bird out when the slight breeze ruffled a feather or two. Definitely a case of ‘less is more’!
A very short visit but, as usual, most enjoyable. I decided not to go to the ‘office’ but made my way directly home.
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Canada Goose, House Martin, Sand Martin, Magpie, Reed Bunting, Tufted Duck, Carrion Crow, Cormorant, Shoveller, Lapwing, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Kingfisher, Gadwall, Pochard, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Green Woodpecker, Ring Necked Parakeet, Willow Warbler, Robin, Wren, Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Mute Swan, Long Tailed Tit, Little Grebe, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Common Sandpiper, Avocet, Goldfinch, Heron, Pied Wagtail, Green Sandpiper, Wheatear, Great Crested Grebe, Teal, Wigeon, Greylag Goose, Ruddy Duck, Blackcap, Common Snipe

EARLY SPRING FLOWERS

2006-05-01T23:06:00.000+01:00

MARSH MARIGOLDS.

Photo: Leon Rusk.

AVOCETS AND KESTRELS.

2006-05-01T22:08:00.000+01:00

We have had heavy rain for most of the night and early morning although as we wait for the bus there is the last of some light drizzle. Heavy drops of water are still falling from the trees. The sky should be overcast for the first part of the day, brightening up a little later. Sue was supposed to be coming along with us but the wet weather has ensured that she is well tucked up in the warm.
Wondering what we could possibly see this week to ‘top’ last week, Leon and I arrived at the site bang on half past nine and made our way to the ‘Wildside’ hide. Although a lot of the birds seemed to be having a snooze, there was still enough ‘action’ to keep us busy scanning the area so as not to miss anything. Most of the Canada Goose pairs seem to be sitting on nests now and all around is evidence of other species doing the same. Leon caught a glimpse of a Sparrowhawk as it flashed by chasing its’ breakfast. Everything had gone very quiet as the raptor sped past but the Reed Warblers were soon in full song again. There was no sign of the Yellow Wagtails today.
At the ‘Headley’ hide the screens were still up protecting the Kingfishers from prying eyes and there was very little going on elsewhere in this area. Outside of the hide was a family of Mallards, Mum and fourteen (!) ducklings.
We had breakfast at the restaurant, neither of us realised just how hungry we had been. The meal was eaten in silence! By the time we had finished the weather had picked up somewhat and the number of people at the Centre had increased greatly.
Walking through ‘Waterlife’ we were treated to a great view of a Kestrel gliding, very slowly, along the path that we were following. The bird was probably no more than about thirty feet above us and seemed totally unconcerned as people turned and pointed, excitedly, at it. It overtook us and disappeared in the direction of the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’. Once again we noticed that the other birds had all but stopped singing, although they were soon in full voice when the Kestrel had vanished from sight.
It seemed as though we were in for a ‘quiet’ day, nearly everywhere that we went seemed to be lacking in action. The feeder area, where we would expect to see all sorts of Finches and Tits, was totally devoid of any type of bird. The path around the ‘back’ of the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ was to provide the start of the improvement in the number of sightings. We did find that the tips that we had picked up on the ‘Birdsong’ walk were beginning to pay dividends. Knowing some of the birdsongs did help us to look in basically the right direction. Sometimes!
On moving into the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide we were surprised to see just how low the water level was. There were just a few pools and assort of ‘moat’ around the perimeter of the Wader Scrape. Immediately outside the hide a Heron was taking full advantage of the low water level. With almost every lunge of his beak he caught a fish, some of which were of a good size. It was then that Leon saw the Avocets for the first time. He was just as amazed as I had been as to how white they were. They truly are the most majestic of birds.
The air raid siren went off. “LOOK AT THAT!” shouted Leon, steaming up my binoculars and removing my hat in one blast of air! Turning around I could see why he was so excited. There was a Kestrel hanging from the front of one of the holes in the Sandmartin Bank trying to get its’ talon into the hole! It tried several times but lost its’ grip and started to fly away. At once the small birds that were still outside of the nest holes started to harry it. The Kestrel took them by surprise as it wheeled round for another sortie at the nest holes. It failed once again and this time, having gained a little height, swooped down towards one of the ‘islands’ where it made a try for a Little Ringed Plover. It failed again and moved off towards the Thames-side bank. Nobody that I spoke to then, or later in the day, had seen anything like it.
The ‘Peacock Tower’ provided some more excellent views of the Avocets. It would appear that the site staff are quite hopeful that the pair may be going to stay! There have been reports of courtship behaviour and even mating. I, for one, will keep my fingers crossed. We also saw our first Dunlin and Green Sandpiper.
Having had another great day, eventually, we moved off to the ‘Red Lion’ stopping only to get some seed for Leons’ feeders which have now been 're-hung' after falling in recent heavy winds. The ‘office’ was unusually quiet so we were able to get some comfortable seats in which we could discuss the days’ events.
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Ruddy Duck, Tufted Duck, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Sand Martin, House Martin, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Starling, Carrion Crow, Lapwing, Great Crested Grebe, Dunnock, Little Grebe, Swift, Blackbird, Magpie, Robin, Green Woodpecker, Common Sandpiper, Wood Pigeon, Mute Swan, Pochard, Kestrel, Goldfinch, Redshank, Pied Wagtail, Little Ringed Plover, Heron, Avocet, Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Shoveller, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Gadwall, Wren, Stock Dove, Jay, Whooper Swan, Cormorant, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon, Teal, Wigeon, Sparrowhawk.

THE VOLE

2006-04-30T20:42:00.000+01:00

LEONS' LITTLE FREIND.

Photo: Leon Rusk

'BIRDSONG' DAY

2006-04-25T22:53:00.000+01:00

Although overcast, there was no rain and very little wind as Leon and I made our way to the Wetlands Centre. In fact it was mild enough not to wear my big coat, choosing a jumper instead. The special walks and talks organised by the Centre are always very enjoyable, we were looking forward to this one, ‘Recognising Birds by their Song’ but little were we to know just how good this day was to be! Even in terms of just numbers of birds seen, this was to be a very special day.
We arrived just before nine thirty and were soon admitted to the site. As the talk didn’t start until ten o’clock we decided to go to the ‘Dulverton’ hide to see what, if anything, was about. I was speaking to a chap, who had been in the ‘Peacock tower’ the day before, about the Black Tailed Godwit, when Leon brought our attention to a bird on the island immediately in front of the hide. It was a Wheatear, showing beautifully, a ‘first’ for Leon and the closest that I had ever seen one. It was so close that we could study its’ markings in some detail.
For some reason I was under the impression that the talk would take place in the Lecture Theatre, but upon arriving back at the Centre was pleased to find that it as in fact a walk. Our guide was called Rupert.
Once the group had assembled we set off, retracing the steps we had just taken, back through the ‘Waterlife’ area. It soon became very apparent that Rupert knew his stuff. Every time a bird made the slightest ‘peep’ he let us know exactly what it was with a brief description of the bird and its’ habits. Repetition was the order of the day, having once pointed the song out, it was noted time and again until it did see that Leon and myself were actually retaining most of the stuff we were hearing! At one point, to the far side of the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’, there were so many birds calling (or perhaps we were just more aware of them!) that Ruperts’ arms were flailing like the sails of a windmill as he pointed out each ones’ whereabouts! It was then that I realised that we were seeing an awful lot more birds than usual. During our numerous visits to the site we had probably missed an awful lot! This mans’ incredible skill was down to lots of experience, we were mightily impressed!
The walk seemed to be over in no time at all, as all good things do, but I believe we had been given a good grounding in learning the skills needed to recognise different birdsong. The rest, of course, will come with practice and experience. Once again it had been a pleasure to listen to one of the staff of the Centre talking with passion about the subject that they, obviously, truly love.
We mooched back to the restaurant for something to eat, but the breakfast stuff had been removed. Somewhat disappointed we made do with a cup of coffee and then moved on to cover the site in our usual order. This was to continue a memorable day!
On the way to the ‘Wildside’ hide we both practiced identifying birds by their songs and were both surprised by what we had picked up. In the reed beds outside the hide, the Reed Warblers were giving their best of performances although not showing themselves as they had the day before.
There were a few people in the hide including one or two from the walk. Having seen the Yellow Wagtails in this area from the ‘Peacock Tower’ yesterday, I thought that we might be lucky again today, maybe getting an even better view as we would be that much closer even using binoculars. I soon spotted them in the distance at the far end of the ‘Grazing Marsh’. Leon soon picked them out, as did others in the hide. A few moments later we were joined by a, slightly breathless, Rupert who asked “Has someone here spotted the Yellow Wagtails?” We answered that we had and pointed them out to him. He seemed jolly pleased and told us that there had been reports that one of them was a Blue Headed type, not rare but uncommon, that originated in Central Europe. It turned out that there were two; Rupert thought either females or maybe first summer males. Another of the staff, Wendy, was summoned by telephone to her obvious delight! It was wonderful to hear two people discussing the birds and their characteristics, ideas flying between the two of them, and at the same time keeping everybody in the hide informed! Also seen here were a Swallow, Egyptian Geese and the first Whinchat for this year on the site. A ‘first’ indeed for both Leon and myself. We are both booked to attend an ‘Early Morning’ event (starts 04:00) in early May and were pleased to find that Wendy would be the lady taking the walk.
We made our way back to the Centre via the ‘Headley’ hide where we could still not catch any glimpse of the Kingfishers.
We visited the other hides in turn, as we usually do, noticing that we were having an exceptional day. We saw, not having a sight of them for some time, some birds that we thought not to see until he end of the year. We recorded more different species today than for any of our other visits to the site. Not only that, we had actually time to really observe most of them properly, most seemed very obliging!
Having so much to talk about we decided that we really ought to go to the ‘Red Lion’ for a few ‘relaxers’. I couldn’t have too many as I was off to Fulham for the match later that evening. As we chatted it was a surprise to us just how much information we had picked up during the day! A truly great day for two novices!
BIRDS SEEN: Greenfinch, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Wheatear, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Redshank, Redstart, Willow Warbler, Goldfinch, Sedge Warbler, Chaffinch, Green Woodpecker, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Jay, Dunnock, Wren, Whinchat, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Mute Swan, Starling, Greylag Goose, House Martin, Sand Martin, Little Grebe, Heron, Shoveller, Swallow, Yellow Wagtail, Blue Headed Yellow Wagtail, Cormorant, Stock Dove, Gadwall, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Kestrel, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Ruddy Duck, Teal, House Sparrow, Egyptian Goose, Song Thrush, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Ring Necked Parakeet, Magpie, Robin

LATE AUTUMN

2006-04-25T22:45:00.000+01:00

EVENING FLIGHT OVER WWT.

Photo: Leon Rusk

KITE AND GODWIT

2006-04-25T20:43:00.000+01:00

What a difference from yesterday! The day was overcast and a very fine, drizzly rain was falling as I waited for the bus. All in all quite miserable, there would not be too many people around today. Perfect! I know people have the right to go to the Wetlands site but the screeching kids of yesterday must have upset the birds as much as they did me!
I went first of all to the ‘Wildside’ hide, stopping to listen to the Reed Warblers who were kicking up the most perfect racket! In fact all of the birds seemed to putting in a little extra effort today! They, and the Reed Buntings, were also more visible. A chap on the bridge just outside the hide had some really good video footage of the comings and goings of the birds.
From the hide itself could be seen a great variety of birds all busy about their daily business. Most of the Canada Geese appear to have sorted out the boundaries of their small territories, although there were a few minor altercations! There were a few people in the hide with telescopes and binoculars. A small group, they kept their voices way down and when asked what they were looking at were very reticent about giving an answer. A first in my experience, most people here are only too willing to help us novices, many going just that little bit further to make our days even more pleasurable.
He ‘Headley’ hide was still, quite rightly, blocked off at one end to give the Kingfishers some privacy. I do look forward to the day when the sheeting comes down, hopefully giving us the chance to see some youngsters! Whilst here, I was treated to the sight of two master fishers at work, a Heron and a Little Grebe. The heron was standing at the waters’ edge neatly picking out small fish, quite a few in just a very short time. The little Grebe, however, had caught a slightly larger fish than the Heron was catching, a quarter of an hour later when I left he was still struggling to swallow it!
As I approached the Centre I noticed several people watching the sky to the west. Lifting my glasses I could see the bird that they were all intent upon. I did not recognise it and asked what it was. One of the chaps said to look at its’ tail. I did and said “Red Kite!” I had been looking in my ‘Collins’, earlier, at just this bird as there had been some discussion about it on a web site that I visit. Another ‘first’ for me.
Foregoing coffee, I next went to the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide. The Avocets were no longer there, a shame as I thought that they were among the most elegant birds I have ever seen. In the large pool at the ‘back’ of the scrape there was a Godwit. Several people reliably informed me it was ‘Black Tailed’ and somebody kindly pointed out the differences for me. My view of the bird was not great so I decided to move to the ‘Peacock Tower’ for a better look.
The view from the tower, as I thought it might be, was brilliant. The Godwit was a rusty colour, nearly fully in its’ summer plumage. I was given a peek through somebody’s’ telescope allowing me to see the bird even more clearly. A ‘first’ followed quickly by another when a Common Sandpiper flew in. I had looked this one up earlier as well because Leon had said that he’d seen one earlier in the week.
From the other side of the tower, some Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears were pointed out. Through the binoculars they were rather indistinct but once again I was allowed to peek through a telescope for a much better view!
I called in to the feeder area on the way out as well as the ‘WWF’ hide. At the feeder there were many finches and Tits in evidence. At the ‘WWF’ hide I saw some Stock Doves, a ’first’ for me as far as I know. They are, by all accounts quite regular visitors here.
After a ‘swift half’ in the ‘Red Lion’ I made my way home.
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Red Warbler, Ruddy Duck, Starling, Heron, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Sparrowhawk, Lapwing, Wood Pigeon, Little Grebe, Sand Martin, House Martin, Greylag Goose, Robin, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Blackbird, Ring Necked Parakeet, Cormorant, Shoveller, Redshank, Blackcap, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear, Little Ringed Plover, Teal, Wigeon, Pied Wagtail, Common Sandpiper, Jack Snipe, Magpie, Red Kite, Stock Dove, Greenfinch, Blue tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit.

A SECRET PLACE

2006-04-23T23:59:00.000+01:00

A SECLUDED POOL.

Photo: Reg Norman

SPRING HAS SPRUNG (22/04/06)

2006-04-23T23:36:00.000+01:00

An unexpected visit to the WWT today. No plans had been made but it was such a glorious day that Sue and I could not resist being out in the open.
We arrived at the Centre at one o’clock and made straight for the ‘Wildside’ hide as is our usual custom. The site was crawling with kids all intent on being louder than the next although the hide was, mercifully, devoid of the ‘screachers’. Most of the ducks and waterfowl were actually asleep, many in small flocks, dotted around the ‘Reservoir Lagoon’. I believe that we had missed the morning feeding session and that we had turned up in time for the ‘siesta’. One bird, however, was still intent on catching food. There was a Great Crested Grebe swimming underwater and rummaging through the reed roots after small fish. As the water was so clear we could watch all the action, the Grebe being rewarded several time for his hard work. Sue was able to get some lovely photos, as the action was taking place no more than about fifteen feet away! On the other side of the hide he reed beds were full of action too! The beds were teeming with Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings. Most of the children had vanished and the little birds were singing their hearts out with no competition! All around us, in the reed beds, we could see signs of nesting birds.
We headed back to the ‘Headley’ hide hoping to get a sight of the Kingfishers, but the entire end of the, now open, hide had been blocked off by the staff. Again, most of the birds in this area seemed to be having a doze, although we did watch a Heron for a short while catching some small fish. Outside of the hide I caught my first sight of a Marsh Frog, it was not for long as he hopped into the water and vanished from sight as son as he was aware of my presence. We made our way back to the Centre by way of the area where Leon and I had previously seen and filmed the vole. We saw nothing, as expected, as there were still lots of people about.
After coffee at the restaurant, we made our way to the ‘Dulverton’ and ‘WWF’ hides where once again everything as pretty quiet, although it did seem that the birds were a little more active.
At the feeding station and walking round the ‘Sheltered Lagoon’ there were not many birds on show although the amount of birdsong seemed to be increasing as time passed.
Our arrival at the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide marked a complete change in fortune for the rest of the afternoon. There was quite an abundance of different species of birds about. We saw two Avocets, something I had not seen for many years. Sue got some lovely shots of swans having a good clean up.
We moved on to the ‘Peacock tower’ where we got some even better views of the Avocets and other waders, the numbers of which seemed to be increasing rapidly. Sue didn’t stay long at the tower. She had been looking for ‘shots’ as we had been walking around the site and, now that I was going to get settled for a while, she went off to visit the places that she had earmarked earlier in the day.
Shortly after Sue had left, a fox came out of the reeds on the ‘Wildside’ edge of the site and proceeded to walk around the whole of the ‘Grazing Marsh’ area and beyond. It appeared to have a bit of a limp but this did not stop it from breaking into a lope every now and again. It had a good nose around, scent-marking as it went along, until something spooked it after crossing the weir. It retraced its’ steps and vanished into the reeds. I spent about an hour at the tower and then moved off to revisit the ‘WWF’ hide on the off-chance that things may have picked up there as well.
At ‘WWF’ I was pleased to note that there was a lot more activity. I had my first sighting of Stock Doves; they were having a dust bath on one of the small islands close to the hide. There was also a pair of Redshanks here, both very busy with their ablutions. As I was watching, I heard a strange noise from directly in front of the hide. It was the fox again! The windows of the hide were open yet he could not have heard me as he passed within about six feet of me!
Leaving the hide, I went back to the feeder area where, once again, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of birds that were now on show. There were many Tits and Finches as well as a large number of Reed Buntings.
Making my way back, I met Sue at the ‘Fritillary Meadow’ which was looking absolutely stunning. The effect of mass planting / seeding really brings home the beauty of the plants. The same could be said of the Cowslips that adorned the bank along the Thames side of the site, I don’t know when the last time was that I saw such profusion.
Reaching the Centre we were both surprised at how the time had passed by. Sue had wanted to take up an annual membership, but it was gone six o’clock and the Centre was supposed to shut at six. To my knowledge there were still quite few people still on site, somebody must have been sent to round them up!
Sue forced me to go to the ‘Red Lion’ for a couple of beers. We had lots of things talk about, one of which was the evidence of predation on eggs. I was quite shocked that nearly everywhere one looked there were either eggs or their shells. I had thought that, maybe, seagulls would have been the main culprits but I only ever saw Crows eating the eggs.
The centre gets more beautiful every day now, Spring really is taking hold. That, and the lovely weather made today really special. I shall be back tomorrow, when rain is forecast, hopefully it will be busier bird wise and quieter human wise!
BIRDS SEEN: Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Heron, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Goose, Ruddy Duck, Little Grebe, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Greylag Goose, Wood Pigeon, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Common Snipe, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Cole Tit, Great Tit, Ring Necked Parakeet, Sand Martin, Willow Warbler, Jay, Magpie, Redshank, Shoveller, Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, Green Woodpecker, Cormorant, Starling, Robin, Stock Dove, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull.

PETER SCOTT, FOUNDER.

2006-04-16T22:26:00.000+01:00

STATUE OF SIR PETER SCOTT.

Photo: Sue Blair.

VIDEOING A VERITABLY VORACIOUS VOLE

2006-04-16T22:13:00.000+01:00

Once more one of our ‘Wetlands’ days started beautifully. The sky was almost clear with only a few light patches of cloud. It was very warm as well and almost made me think that I should not have bothered with my heavy coat. We had decided to start just a little later today but the bus arrived early and we arrived only a few minutes later than usual! Leons’ cousin, John, was going to join us at the Centre a little later.
Leon as keen to get to the ‘Headley’ hide, in case it was now open, to see the Kingfishers. Unfortunately it was still closed and, although a little disappointed, we both knew that it was for the best. We continued on to the ‘Wildside’ hide, amazed at the amount of birdsong all around us. We really must ‘bone-up’ on our birdsong and are both looking forward to the ‘Identifying Birds by their Song’ workshop in a couple of weeks time.
From the ‘Wildside’ hide we could see that many birds, waterfowl and ducks alike, were making or had made nests already. There was even a small family of Coots with two chicks, little balls of black fluff with red and yellow ‘punk’ hairdos! There seemed to be very few ducks about, the large flocks of Teal and Wigeon had only a few representatives in evidence. No Pochard or Gadwall to be seen anywhere.
Making our way back towards the Centre we decided to go back past the ‘Headly’ hide and through the ‘South West Asia Reedswamp’ area in order to cover more ground. We had seen a vole here some time ago but were not prepared for what we were about to see today. As we walked quietly along, Leon pointed out a little creature, sat at the edge of the reedbed, eating grass. The vole was only about five feet away from us and continued to eat as if we were not there. He did scuttle back into the reeds if we made sudden movements but was soon out again if we stood still. Leon was able to take many pictures and some video footage. John turned up whilst we were watching the vole, after cautioning him to approach slowly and quietly he was able to get a really close view as well. Eventually the vole got tired of our company and toddled off into the reeds.
Passing back through the Centre we decided not to stop for breakfast but to continue straight on to the ’Waterlife’ area. We did not stay long at the ‘Dulverton’ hide as there did not seem to be much on view, in fact most people who came in stayed for only a few minutes. At the junction of the path leading from the ‘Dulverton’ hide, where it meets the main path through ‘Waterlife’, John spotted a small lizard sunning itself on the path. Needless to say, as soon as it realised that we were there it sped off into the grass. I tried to catch it but gave up for fear of injuring the poor thing. We moved on to the feeder station near the ‘Lagoon’. A disappointing visit here as there were no birds to be seen, apart from a Robin who was singing his heart out. We continued our walk around the ‘Lagoon’ spotting a few Tits here and there and watching the sparse numbers of duck on the water itself. Here, too, we heard plenty of birdsong and were again reminded of the forthcoming workshop day where we hoped that we might pick up some tips on bird recognition through their song. We also heard some bursts of Woodpecker ‘drumming’ although we did not see the bird responsible.
Arriving at the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide we were pleasantly surprised to see quite few birds going about their daily business. This was without doubt the busiest area we had thus far visited. A Kestrel gave a fantastic display of hovering above the ‘Peacock Tower’ and several other locations as it moved westwards across the site. Amongst other birds we were treated to were some great views of Common Snipe moving about and feeding.
As John and Leon were going on to an Easter family lunch, they were keen to move on to the ‘Peacock Tower’ itself. From the tower we were able, once again, to get some more great views of the birds in the ‘Wader Scrape’. Looking around the site we could still not see many ducks about although the odd bird or two represented most species that we have grown accustomed to. After a short while John and Leon made their goodbyes and went off to lunch. They had not been gone more than a few minutes when a Sparrowhawk shot past the tower in pursuit of some small bird. Most people got, at least, a quick look at this raptor in full flight. Even better, a few minutes later, a shout of ‘Peregrine!’ went up and most of us on the North side of the tower saw the bird, although somewhat fleetingly, as it sped Westwards. There was utter pandemonium in the tower as people were rushing around trying to see the bird. Having missed its’ quarry the bird had gone. Three raptors in less than half an hour, I was very happy!
I hung about for about another half an hour, just looking at this and that, then decided to make my way home. I had been watching the Kingfisher Bank but had seen no toings and froings.
I decided to go to the feeder station on the way back to the Centre ‘just in case’. I am glad that I did because there were many birds in attendance. I was especially pleased to see a Chiffchaff again, my second sighting. There were lots of Finches and Tits as well as the now common Ring Necked Parakeets, hogging one of the feeders.
I didn’t fancy a beer so made my way straight home for dinner. Roast duck!
BIRDS SEEN: Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Reed Bunting, Mallard, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Greylag Goose, Wigeon, Teal, Lapwing, Heron, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cole Tit, Robin, Kestrel, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Common Snipe, Sand Martin, Magpie, Swallow, Blackbird, House Martin, Wood Pigeon, Mute Swan, Sparrowhawk, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Shoveller, Peregrine, Chiffchaff.

REFLECTIONS OF SUMMER

2006-04-03T21:00:00.000+01:00

THE PEACOCK TOWER.

Photo: Sue Blair.

AN ACCOMODATING WATER RAIL

2006-04-03T20:48:00.000+01:00

A beautiful start to the day, there was virtually no wind and the sun was shining brightly. It would be like this for most of the day although there would be some very heavy showers later on. I was to be on my own today, Leon was off to France tomorrow and Sue was busy with other things. Waiting at the bus stop I was surprised by the amount of birdsong, perhaps I was becoming more attuned to it. I noticed too that the buds were breaking on the trees and shrubs all around me.
I didn’t arrive at the Centre until just gone 11 o’clock and so was not surprised to see that it was quite busy. It was National Heron Day and there were large parties of youngsters everywhere.
As usual, there didn’t seem to be much going on at the ‘Wildside’ hide but I have come to know that even on this, comparatively, small site anything can be happening only a few minutes walk away! I stayed for about half an hour and moved on.
I made my way back to the ‘Hedley’ hide and saw a small notice on the door. The hide was closed. The good news was that it was closed because Kingfishers had decided to start building a nest in the ‘Kingfisher Bank’ constructed just for this purpose. I believe that this is the first time that it has been used and therefore understandable that the hide be closed.
Walking back towards the Centre, I noticed that, apart from the very noisy Canada Geese, there was very little birdsong. There didn’t seem to be very much in the way of small birds about either.
I didn’t stop for breakfast as I had had mine much earlier. There were plenty of people sat both inside and out enjoying theirs, those outside enjoying the lovely sunshine as well! There were a couple of vans parked at the Centre belonging to a film company; by all accounts they were filming a documentary about the possibility of droughts in the South East.
Walking from the Centre towards ‘The Lagoon’ the whole day was about to change for the better. The wind suddenly picked up and was soon quite gusty and strong. Quite a few smaller birds were now busy amongst the Birches and Willows. There was quite a sizeable group of Reed Buntings with many other types coming and going. It stared to rain so I popped into the ‘WWF’ hide, getting there as the sky turned very dark and the rain got very heavy. From here I could see lots of different waterfowl and gulls and spent about half an hour watching them going about their daily business. Even the heavy rain could not stop the Canada Geese from squabbling and trumpeting! The sun came out almost as suddenly as it had disappeared and the water seemed to turn blue, reflecting the, now clear, sky. I decided to move to the ‘Feeder Station’ where I saw my first Chiffchaff. This was kindly pointed out by a small group of people who were armed with enormous telescopes and cameras. They were waiting to photograph the Kingfisher so I was able to repay their kindness by suggesting that they go to the ‘Peacock Tower’. With the equipment they had they should easily be able to see an action.
I walked the long way round ‘The Lagoon’ spotting a Green Woodpecker in the same tree that we saw the Great Spotted Woodpecker last week. He was quite motionless and I moved on after a few minutes. As I moved along there were plenty of Tits and Finches to see in the undergrowth to both sides.At the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide there were a large group of people already seated inside. A young lady who was on her first birdwatching trip was asking lots of questions and getting lots of information and tips from a much older gentleman who I have often seen at the Centre and who is always ready to help novices such as myself. He was pointing out a Little Ringed Plover …”next to the Redshank”… he said. They were indeed within eighteen inches of each other, the Redshank another first for me! The young lady was obviously highly delighted and asked …” and what is that bird just there on the mud?” It was a Water Rail. It proceeded to promenade to and fro, about ten feet away at its closest, for the best part of an hour! The Sandmartins were back and they were busy flying back and forth with beakfulls of nest making material.
I moved on to the ‘Peacock Tower’ and looking back to the ‘Wader Scrape’ hide I could still see the Water Rail out in plain view. I made sure that everybody was aware that it was there in case some had not seen it. The Wader Scrape, which was as empty of water as I had ever seen it, held several Little Ringed Plovers and also a few Redshanks, one of which only had one leg but seemed quite content. Rumours were circulating that several people had seen a Bearded Tit, although none in the hide had. I spent about two hours in the hide during which time we had another downpour. The sky was even blacker this time and the rain much heavier. Birds over fifty yards away were lost to sight. Yet still, the Canada Geese kept up their racket.
The sun came out again shortly afterwards and I decided to make my way out of the Centre. Upon leaving the ‘Tower’ I came across a chap and a lady who were filming some birds in the willow ‘hedge’. Not wanting to disturb them I stood still and watched the birds through my binoculars. When they had finished, after a few minutes, I asked what they were. “Willow Warblers!” he said “A tad early but Willow Warblers!” I had thought that they were Chiffchaffs (again!) but checking my ‘Collins’ I think that I agree with him.
Walking back to the Centre I took time to reflect on everything that I had seen. This place never seems to be the same from one day to the next. You just never know what you might see!
I noticed again that the buds were bursting on the trees and all about me there were flowers that I had not noticed before. I will take more time over them next week and shall bring a book to help me identify them.
On the way to the ‘Red Lion’ (I needed more reflection), I noticed a strange bird call. It sounded like an old clockwork train running down! I quickly got my binoculars out and found the location of the bird. It was sparrow sized, very, very dark grey with even darker (black?) wings and head. I haven’t been able to find it in my ‘Collins’ but will keep looking or ask at the Centre next week. A big Chaffinch chased the bird off.
BIRDS SEEN: Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Wood Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Coot, Moorhen, Shoveller, Little Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Carrion Crow, Starling, Blue Tit, Heron, Lapwing, Blackbird, Cormorant, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Reed Bunting, Robin, Chaffinch, Reed Warbler, Green Woodpecker, Magpie, Redshank, Little Ringed Plover, Water Rail, Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Kingfisher, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Shellduck, Willow Warbler, Ring-Necked Parakeet.

THE THAW BEGINS

2006-03-28T21:14:00.000+01:00

SEEDHEAD THAWING.

Photo: Sue Blair.