I have shown some family and friends around my second ‘home’ - Stocker’s Lake, but a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of being taken around Horseshoe Lake and Moor Green Lakes, a regular walk for my friend Mary.
I warned Mary that I don’t generally do walks, I do strolls, meanders and stop/starts with lots of taking of pictures in between and she kindly agreed to put up with it. She generally does walks with one of her friends and her dog, but she agreed to my go slow and some bird watching.
She deserves extra thanks as the weather was dreadful; very grey, very wet with the odds spots of rain. The ground was in places waterlogged. The river had burst its banks in places and some paths were impassable. I had been warned to wear wellies but thought “Nah, I won’t need them” so our route had to be adapted. She sensibly wore wellies and in a number of places found it easier than me.
Thinking back on the morning, two things really stand out.
Firstly, how similar, and yet how different things were, even though the lakes are only 40 miles apart. Much of the flora, the trees, bushes and other plants were the ones I was used to seeing, and equally they were all dressed in their winter attire.
Many of the birds were also familiar, lots of coots, mallards, grebes, gadwalls, grey herons, Canada Geese, Mute Swans, robins, tufted ducks, cormorants and even a little egret. A number of the birds were some way away so I’m less certain but think there were a number of pochards too.
The big difference was the goosanders (also known as mergansers – their scientific name being Mergus merganser). I’ll admit my initial reaction when I first saw a couple was that they were some more grebes. Those first ones were female and their head colouring – coppery, auburn is similar to a grebes’, the white throat is similar too and the spikey backcombs of the goosander are reminiscent of the crest on a grebe. However, we then saw a couple of males with their distinctive green heads and realized the mistake. After that we saw lots of them, probably 15-20 of them.
I have only ever seen a couple of goosanders in ‘the wild’ before; one in Norfolk and one on Stocker’s Lane. They are attractive birds and are members of the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. It made the visit even more special.
The second observation is about the positive power of slowing down, taking your time in nature – and maybe even the joys of birdwatching. Mary, like the others I had taken around Stocker’s Lake, mentioned how enjoyable she had found taking her time and doing some bird watching rather than just noticing some of the birds as she does on her normal walks.
Lots of writers and bloggers have talked about it but there clearly has been a change in perception and the connection to nature for so many people has become stronger and more valued. Indeed it was one of the reasons I started this blog and it is always nice to hear someone else talk about the pleasure and potential benefits of just taking a bit longer living, breathing, seeing and enjoying nature.
Our stroll continued and our time by the lakes finished with us passing Tern Island. There weren’t any terns on it but lots of cormorants,
and then on the bank we saw a single bright while little egret. A beautiful elegant bird.
Making our way back to her house, I started to tease Mary, saying that she had got me down there under false pretenses. We had frequently talked about how she often sees red kites, one of my favourites, but there hadn’t been even one.
Of course the words were hardly out of mouth when I looked up and saw one.
My only real disappointment well other my wet feet was that my photos aren’t as good as they could, should have been. The birds had been a long way away, the weather dull and grey neither conducive to great photography, but we agreed as some film star once said - I’ll be back.
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