LAKELAND BIRDS

I mentioned a few days ago that I recently went up to the Lake District for a weekend with a plan to go on a couple of bird-watching walks to take some pictures and see some wildlife and generally get away from the hurly-burly of day-to-day existence. I think that I also mentioned that the first of walks had proven to be somewhat disappointing from the point of view of actually seeing much in the way of actual birds, but I forgot to mention that our April Fool’s Day stroll around Rydal Water proved to be far more successful when it came to the small matter of the entire purpose of our being there.

Whilst the twittering through the trees and bushes definitely told us that there were plenty of birds about, and the odd sudden flittering across the extremities of my peripheral vision spoke of much springtime nest-building in progress, the variety of branches and budding leaves made much of the activity almost impossible to see, as did the presence of various other people and dogs out to enjoy the glorious unexpectedly warm early-season weather make these understandably nervous creatures likely to decide to settle down within ten feet of me and pose for any of my pictures.

However, as we strolled down the path towards the edge of the water, a small beach-like area came into view and we were very lucky to spend five minutes or so watching a couple of Black Headed Gulls paddling at the water’s edge, churning up the sandy soil and picking out the food they found when they did so.

Across on the tiny island in the middle of the lake, various ducks, gulls and geese were noisily going about the business of the day, safe in the knowledge that few, if any, dogs or people were likely to bother them all that much as they did so, and, all-in-all, the whole experience was pretty serene and we carried on with our walk happy in the knowledge that we had, at least, seen something that made all of our plans for a bird-watching weekend seem more worthwhile.

Then, as we rounded the end of the lake, we spotted a couple of Swans going through their various mating rituals in which they completely mimic each other until the “deed” is done. It was all rather fascinating (if a little intrusive) to watch, and luckily we were rather too far away to be tempted to sit there, just a few feet away, snapping away at something that might have ultimately felt a bit unclean, as if I was somehow making “Swan Porn” of some kind.

I know… I shouldn’t anthropomorphise, and the Swans themselves wouldn’t have given a flying f… fig,  but really, there are moments when you really feel that you should put the camera away and watch nature doing its stuff and perhaps feel slightly humbled by it.

Anyway, by the time we were close enough to get any real close ups, the whole thing was most definitely over and a certain amount of personal grooming was going on as the male swam away, which I’m sure didn’t leave quite the same general air of disappointment as a similar couple of minutes for we humans might have done.

Sometimes I think that we could learn a lot from the birds…

Further along, as we walked along the road back towards the car park and the inevitable journey homewards, we spotted a number of Geese pecking at the ground in the various fields alongside the Sheep, and a couple of Oyster Catchers hanging around at the water’s edge. It was obviously very unlikely that they could have been the same Oyster Catchers which I had seen on the California coast just a few short weeks ago, or even the ones I saw in Wales last summer, but it was a nice thought and one which linked my various travels together in my mind.

Finally, as we got so very close to picking up the car, a couple of Buzzards started circling overhead and, for once, I had exactly the right lens on the camera, and the presence of mind to stop watching and start clicking and so I was able to capture a couple of moments for the memory hovel.

And so the bird-watching adventures ended on a comparatively spectacular note. I’m sure more seasoned spotters will see nothing special in us spotting what is, after all, a Common Buzzard and no doubt a fairly common sight, but for us, the opportunity to actually see a bird of prey hunting in the wild is something very rare and special indeed, and it was rather was a happy memory to have in our minds to head home with.