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1 Nov 2009 10:09 PM

My wife and I have been taking a keen interest on what the weather was going to be like for I felt like a walk to see if I could see my first Fieldfare of the year.

My wife's ankle is not good enough to go out walking, we hope it will be better soon, so I said nothing to her about wishing to wanting to put on my outdoor gear to go for a 'battery charge' in the fresh air. 

Instead of going for a walk, I drove her to the shops and when we came home, now with a change in the weather from beautiful clear azure skies to thick cloud build up, she told me that I need not stay indoors just because she could not go out for a walk.  I did not want her to think that I was teetering, almost ready to go out, so I waited for a while before I made my decision.  By the time I was ready to go, the weather had changed and thicker clouds were on the horizon.  Keeping an eye on the weather I 'fished out' another layer of clothing and set off to a reserve I knew I would feel safe.

As soon as I disembarked from the car, I took out a note pad and I had not been walking for long, about two or three minutes, when I saw, without the aid of my trusted binoculars, a beautiful male Bullfinch. The bird stayed, as if posing for me, for about a minute and I kicked myself for not taking my camera with me. 

There were lots of Crows flying around and they were making lots of noises but the calls soon faded away when I walked towards a large lake.  This walk was done easily, for footpaths had been put in, and there were lots of people out walking in front and behind me.

Many of the walkers had dogs with them but some of the exercising people were simply meandering around enjoying the fresh air.

By now, there were more leaves on the ground than there were on the trees but the remaining foliage, shimmering in the light breeze, had beautiful colours of yellow, light ochre and bronze.

On the lake, Black Headed Gulls were diving and mobbing one another and making noisy calls resembling the sounds associated with the seaside.   

The edges of the lake were like a 'millpond' yet the central body of the lake had shallow wave forms of its own and the casual observer could have been forgiven for thinking that there was a 'boom rope' partitioning the water off into two sections. 

Today, there were several ducks on the water that had been absent while they were away breeding.  Widgeon, making a diagnostic one note whistle like call, were there in their hundreds.  Male and female Goosanders were plentiful, and Pochards, Lapwings and Coot were 'cheek by jowl' on the fringes of the lake.  Many of the water fowl were at the far side of the lake and I was unsure if I would be able to get to see any of them due to the weather deteriorating.    I looked round the lake and noted that today, for the first time since the breeding season began, there were so many ducks it was going to be difficult to make an informed estimation of their numbers.  For a while, taking in the scene, I sat on a wooden bench and noted down a few birds.  Cormorants, Great Crested Grebes and Canada Geese seemed to be in every location I looked at. 

On the next seat, close to where I was sitting, a mature couple sat down.  I looked their way but they were too busy setting up their tripod and camera to notice me.  They had not been sitting long when the lady, of the duo, began to cough and the man started to blow his nose.  The couple sounded as though they should have been in bed.  Has it turned out, the birdwatchers only sat for a few minutes and then moved on in the direction of the car park. 

Eventually, I moved on for it was starting to get busy and there seemed to be large groups of people milling round where I was sitting.  I passed a tree lined area and although there were not as many leaves on the trees as there were a couple of weeks ago, I could not see the Blue Tits, Chaffinches and Bullfinches that could be heard.  On the ground, there were still lots of Clovers in flower and there was also the singular yellow flower but, because of the poor condition the flower was in, I could not tell what it was. 

While I had my head down, making a few notes, two birdwatchers passed me, one on either side of me.  One of the men, the smaller of the two, stocky and with his arms at an angle and elbows out,to take up as much room as he could, almost bumped into me as though he thought he had more right to be there than I did. It was obvious to me that he was trying to intimidate me but I had no idea why.  I was not phased by the duo for I have, over many years, met lots of new birdwatchers who think that their new found knowledge makes them feel superior to others.  My set answer to any birder, who thinks like that, is to tell them that the knowledge they have gained, over a couple of years, is simply knowledge that has been forgotten.  I remind them of the times when there was no vehicular transport, when people lived in villages, and when everybody travelled on foot. 

In those days, without an overnight stay, the average person would only usually manage to walk about a 20 mile round trip and they would, through being familiar with everything that was round them and from information handed down from 'father to son', know all the birds, plants and what could be eaten while they were walking. 

This information never goes down well with such types but I would hope the illustration may affect their judgement on what they see rather than what they think they see.  In other words, they may have made a judgement, about me, without knowing anything about me and those thought patterns may cloud their judgement when trying to decide what they had seen when they were out on a field trip.

So that I could make a few more notes, in relative comfort, I walked to the nearest wooden bird watching hide and had the place to myself.  Looking out over the water, I noticed that there were lots of male and female Mallards and Gadwall with their heads tucked under their wings fast asleep.  Dabbling Teal were back on site and Pied Wagtails were in good numbers.  Some Widgeon were in moth eaten plumage and, as they preened, they comically beat the water with their wings as if trying to beat out parasites.  The slapping sound, as they raised and lowered their wings, sounded like humans applauding.  There were a couple of Swans on site, which were still in brown pigments and this suggested to me that they were this year's brood.  The Swans kept well away from human activity and I assumed that they had been reared where humans were absent.  While I was looking at the Swans, a Goldeneye duck swam into my binocular range of view.  Goldeneyes  leave this site, in the breading season, because they nest in holes of mature trees; it is my guess that this site does not have enough mature trees for the Goldeneye duck  hence it moves to another site to breed.  Seeing Goldeneye  ducklings, fall out of a hole in a tree, before finding their way to water for the first time, is a frightening experience to someone who has not seen it happen before.  The young chicks, still in downy feathers, jump out of the tree hole, plummet to the ground, sometimes many feet, with a bump and appear to be dazed by the whole experience but, within no time at all, they pull themselves up and waddle forward to the nearest stretch of water. 

Shovelers were back and held, steadfast, at the side of a new gull roost that already boasted 100s of gulls but, as winter draws on, the roost will multiply 10 fold at least.  At the moment, the gulls are Black Headed and Lesser Black Back. 

While sitting in the hide, the light began to deteriorate and it always looks darker through binoculars no matter how good the quality of the lens is. Two visitors came into the hide but, because all the ducks on the water were spread out, instead of being clumped together, it was difficult for the novice birdwatchers to know what they were trying to look at and the birders soon left the hide. 

Before leaving the hide, now standing, I made a note of the Pied Wagtails nest that was built inside the hide during the breeding season.  Parts of the nest were still intact and I marvelled at the construction from a small bird that is constantly on the move.  Before leaving the hide, with the door ajar, I read the chalked marked notice board to read what other birders had seen that day.  While I was reading, a lone young woman walked into the hide.  At first sight, I was concerned that the young woman would be sitting in the hide on her own but, on second thoughts, I assumed she may have been entering the hide to get the 'all clear' before her partner came along. No matter, I said my salutations and bid her farewell. 

Female birders, when I first began to bird watch, over 30 years ago, were a rare breed for there were not many women prepared to sit, for hours on end, in clothing that was not as warm and waterproof as the gear we wear today, sometimes fighting bracing winds before the advent of hides.  It pleases me now to note that birding is much easier and also, to some extent, safer too. 

It was now getting to the time of day when the sun would drop below the cloud line and this would, if the sun did come out, give me a boost of light that would allow me to stay out a little bit longer.  I walked back, to where I had left the car, and, from bushes close to where I was walking, Robins trilled their winter song notes. 

I moved on, for a quick visit, to another lake but when I heard a 'bull horn,' I instantly knew there would be no birds on this lake due to the Yachting fraternity being out on the water.  Instead, I move on toward a long wide open field that supported a herd of cattle.  I was hoping to see Fieldfare and Redwing hopping around by the feet of the cattle but, no matter how hard I tried, I could only see Magpies.  At the side of this field, there was a wooden style and I proceeded to walk over it but, as I straddled the style-for I was now in a higher plain of view-I stopped in my tracks as I could see 100s of Canada Geese and also some Pink Footed Geese feeding on short grass.  Carefully, and slowly, I put my other foot over the style and crouched, to make myself small, close to a Silver Birch tree.  The heads of the geese went up and I feared they were all going to be spooked by my presence in their feeding area.  I relaxed and found an area, in my body, which gave me freedom of movement yet giving me the quietest way of going about my business. 

I made a few notes and, while I was doing this, a couple of walkers, ignoring the fact that the geese may take to the air when they entered the field the birds were in, they went lunging off up the footpath that was at the side of the field.  To my surprise, the geese lifted their heads and simply waddled away from the walkers; the birds must not have thought there was no threat to them.  Later, while I was still watching the geese, for there were Woodpigeons and male Pheasants along side of the grazing birds, and I could not see why, the whole flock of geese took to the air and did not return. 

I decided it was time to go back to the car for the shadows, in the fields, from a sun that was now very low in the sky, were getting longer and I instantly new that the cold air would soon be too cold for the type of clothing I was wearing. 

On my way back to the car, I noticed, with three other birders, the two men that had tried, unsuccessfully, to intimidate me.  One member, of the party, even though I had my car window closed, made a remark which I construed to be about me.  I suppose, had I been younger, I would have wound the window down and asked if there was a problem but my age told me that it is best to wakl away from  situations that may escalate.

Once driving, I took note of the condition of the leaves, now falling off the trees at a fair pace and piled up at the side of the road's surface, and steered a line so that I did not get too close to the edge of the narrow lane.  The falling leaves were fairly dry and not as slippery as they would have been had they been wet but I needed to give myself a little bit of 'lee way' in case another vehicle came towards me in.  Passing this particular area, without the leaves, is often a cautious drive, and today could, to the inexperienced, have been hazardous. 

Once off the narrow lanes, and onto the open road, I turned the car radio on and learned that tomorrow's weather was going to be in complete contrast to today�s weather and, has it turned out, the weather men had got the forecast 'spot on,' for they said a severe weather warning would be in place and the weather, with lashing rain, strong winds and cold temperatures,  on Sunday, proved too bad to go down the garden let alone go out for a walk with nature in mind.

By for now,

John.
                     

   

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