Harry, George, Mike, Dan and I made landfall back from Thailand last night
after a mind-, bum- and nose-numbing 12-hour flight. Over the coming days and
weeks I'll post occasional pictures and accounts from this unforgettable trip
which was made by the fantastic and lively company just as much as the c.380
species that we collectively gathered up.
Despite feeling thoroughly grotty and jetlagged with my ears still ringing
from hours of watching trashy films about men stuck in cat bodies over the hum of the airbus engine, I
dragged myself out and went birding today. It looked like a right pea-souper
outside, rubbish for the patch, so I stayed in for a while and caught up on the
final episode of The Missing. Once the convoluted drama surrounding the Webster family had drawn to a close, I peered out to the window to see that it still hadn't cleared so opted to
go to the London Wetland Centre instead as I hadn't visited the reserve for
years and figured it really ought to be clearer there.
Distracted by an unusual amount of activity in my car park, it took a while
before I fired the car up. The single fruit-bearing tree had attracted
hordes,
by its standards, with many birds feasting including two
Fieldfares, 15
Redwings
and a similar number of
Rose-ringed Parakeets.
The clouds were still on the ground when I got to the WWT but I shuffled
around a few of the hides and allowed myself to be diverted by some displays,
the captive wildfowl collection and the LEGO birds. It was truly nice to be reminded
of the positive influence a place such as the London Wetland Centre has on a
great many people and on conservation as I shared hides with groups on outings
and parents with kids enjoyed the trails and the green space on offer. Some
birders may find the noisy families an unbearable hindrance but I find it
greatly warming to see such a variety and number of people benefiting from,
valuing and supporting such a refuge. Through the mist I managed to pick out
the wintering
Water Pipit and a single
Bittern, while three
Cetti's
Warblers and a
Water Rail were heard and three
Pintail were
also on the main lake.
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Water Pipit |
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Great Crested Grebes |