And now the post penultimate entry!!! And some bird news for
a change!
But first, I expect like me you get unsolicited e-mails
which make you reach for the delete button, but I got one this week, from someone
I know so it was kosher, with an amazing statistic.
This month, now, December, 2018 has a structure that will
not happen again for 723 years. Yes, YEARS.
December has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays and 5 Mondays. Anyone alive today, will never encounter that
again in their life, and it will be about 30-34 generations before it happens
again.
How about that for a conversation stopper over Xmas!!
Tuesday
December 11th a nice clear day for Chris and me to
visit Rutland Water. Mind you, I got off to a bad start by driving down the M1
from junction 25 to 24, and not seeing the new exit arrangement at J24, I
missed the turn off. Shows how long it must have been since I went that way, so
I was left with no option but to continue on down the M1. The Satnav took me
round the north of Leicester and at least I missed Melton Mowbray en route to
Oakham. Needless to say, Chris was already there, but I was only 20 minutes
late.
The view of
the water from the Egleton centre straight away found the great White Egret and
in fact the Great and a Little were viewable through my scope at the same time
– a useful comparison of size, and particularly the large yellow beak of the
Great. The lovely Pintails were in
abundance, and a pair of Redhead (female) Smew were spotted, but no White Nun.
The feeding
station produced one of those eternal bird id problems. Being in and out so
quickly, was it a Willow or a Marsh Tit????
I suppose because we always have Willow at Carsington, that was my first
reaction, until the Volunteer in the centre said, “We only get Marsh Tits”. Oh, for the opportunity to see both, side by
side!!
Our packed
lunch was digested in the Mallard hide (not very far from the visitor centre…
we were hungry), but our vigilance was rewarded by what was, apart from
Lapwings, the only wader we saw, a Green Sandpiper. But a meandering Marsh
Harrier was what flushed the Lapwings, and not the Fox that we saw creeping
along the edge of the water.
It’s too long
a story to explain how I got to this point, but I purchased a very nice framed oil
painting of an Osprey landing in a tree, which was for sale at Rutland visitor
centre. I took it home and then to Carsington where it was presented to me at the
Volunteers Christmas lunch, as a memento of my 21
years as a Volunteer.
It was a
wonderful gift, which will go well in our bird themed dining room at home. I
will need to put it in a smaller frame, but it will look great on the wall, and
a lovely memory of my days at Carsington, and the Osprey project that I
masterminded from 2011
On the
subject of Willow Tits, a National survey is being undertaken in 2019/20 to
locate all the diminishing but remaining population. I have mentioned that
Carsington is making it’s contribution by erecting more boxes to try and
increase the population in a location which IS good for Willows.
An amusing
comment on different perspectives. In
England, particularly in the South East, Ring Necked Parakeets are
proliferating and recognised as a pest. I find very few people like this bird,
which admittedly did not come to England naturally but started from escapees or
released birds (depending on which version you believe!!)
Whereas, in
Barcelona you can see the most diverse array of introduced Parakeets.
What
else? Water is still being pumped into
Carsington, now at 68% full.
Saturday
December 15th Carsington Volunteers enjoyed their
annual Xmas lunch, and I had the nice surprise(!!!) of the Osprey painting (as
above) before we dined. I had a number of cards and presents, and also
a nice hand-written note from the CEO of Severn Trent, Liv Garfield.
When such a
senior person takes time out to send a hand-written note of appreciation, it
means more than a voucher, or cash. It is a true recognition, and a pity it
does not happen more. John Timpson of the Timpson shoe repair chain is a great
believer in hand written notes and knows that a recipient is more likely to pin
that to the wall than a £10 note.
It was a good
Xmas lunch which 20 of us enjoyed, at the same time struggling with my 30
question quiz papers to find names of sweets. OK, some had not heard of Five Boys,
Blackjacks, or Fruit Salad, and even Tictacs, but I thought “Southern underwear”
(Snickers) and “It’s all about Brexit” (Topic) were not that difficult.
Sunday
December 16th and now to another farewell, although I have to say that
judging by the ferocious weather on Saturday, it was a surprise to wake up and
find it was sunny and dry, albeit cold.
That’s fine…. soon solved with 6 layers.
To-day was my last BwB in
Markeaton Park for FOMP, the Friends of Markeaton Park. I had been doing the
walk for three years, and it will continue seamlessly into 2019 when it will be
led for the first 6 months by Malcolm Hopton, the Treasurer of the DOS.
Only 3 people to-day, but they were rewarded with 25
species, the best count in 2018, so it was nice to leave on a high. 2 Little
Egrets on the main lake (I’d only ever seen a singleton there previously), 10
Goosanders plus Tree Creeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker were the pick of the
crop.
And thanks to one of my regular birders, who also makes blog comments, for her home-made and embroidered farewell card bearing a Robin.
I hope you are all well in hand with your Xmas planning.
Just 15 days to go and it will be birding 2019… here we go!!!
Happy Birding.
I believe that Mrs Bridge has already corrected you about the number of Saturdays and Sundays in December so...enough said. She has a thing about dates, the calendar ones not the edible variety.
ReplyDeleteNice to be able to see the Great and Little White Egrets together. Rutland was as good as usual.
Good to see that your 21 years as a Volunteer has been properly recognised. Well done!