The law breakers of Stocker’s Lake

There is much to love in and around Stocker’s Lake, and there is much I do love.

I love the ever-changing scenery which can seem to have been transformed from week to week, as the seasons come and go. I’m constantly amazed by how much can grow in a single week, while at other times a week can see the plants slide in from their summer greenery to the browns and yellows of their autumnal and winter clothes.

It’s a place you can forage for wild foods if you choose to do so. Earlier this year, the wild garlic blossomed in abundance in the shadows under the trees beside Springwell Lake and the current wealth of blackberries, both highlights of the year. I loved my wild garlic scones with butter and cheese and can’t resist the odd freshly picked blackberry as a sweet, sharp refresher on my recent walks.

The flowers and flora; their shapes, colours and contrasts are a joy to behold if you take the time to really look for and enjoy them.

Walking or jogging around the lake may be good for you and your fitness, but gently strolling and regular stopping can be equally beneficial improving your mental health and helping revive your soul.

The light filtering through layers of translucent green leaves, the frosted leaves on a wintery morning and both the crystal clear, and the more impressionistic rippled reflections appeal to anyone with even the smallest appreciation of the natural world.

The bees, butterflies, beetles, the dragon and damselflies captive and delight with their buzzing, flitting and crawling.

On top of all this, there are the birds; the variety is wonderful and there are so much more than just waterfowl.

The tiny brown wrens with their awe-inspiring song. How does something that small make so much noise? The cuddly cuteness of the fluffy body of a long-tailed tit. The brightly coloured beauty of a goldfinch. The ever-present pigeons and blackbirds, the sparrows, swifts, swallows all have something special to offer.

Then, of course there are the waterfowl with the most prevalent being the Canada geese, the black-headed gulls, the mallards, the coots and the mute swans. All with different things to interest, amuse and astound you; the honking of the geese so often the prelude to them taking off, the undoubted elegance of the mute swans, well, at least until they upend themselves sticking their bums in the air, the transformation of the plumage on the male mallard from the amazing iridescent colours during mating season to a more drab colouring during their eclipse, the stillness of the sharp-eyed heron waiting for a flash of silver fish and then their speed plunging their beaks into the water.

Then there is the cuteness of the young – the ducklings, goslings and signets and how they rapidly grow and transform, growing to look more like their parents.

However perhaps my favourite things are the BIFs - the birds in flight. Despite how many times I see a bird flying I’m struck by this amazing feat of nature which for me seems to defy the laws of physics.

I’ve read that some of the reasons that birds can fly are that they have hollow bones that are very light and strong, their feathers are light and the shape of their wings is perfect for catching the air and that their lungs are highly efficient at getting then the oxygen they need.

I found a piece by Kim Bostwick of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who explained the theory of flying in more detail “When a bird is flying, their wings are flat so that the air flows easily around it in the direction the animal flies (like your hand cutting through the water or air). However, something special and tricky happens here. As the air flows over the wing, the air flows faster over the top than the bottom because the wing is slightly curved on top. This means there will be more air on the bottom side, because the air is moving more slowly. When there is more air on the bottom that leads to a push and since the push happens against that wide flat part of the wing, this push lifts the animal. So, a bird wing slices in the air in the forward direction and gets pushed up from below; the net result is a flying bird!”

Despite the logic of the explanation, my brain still says “Does not compute” and I find myself wondering how can they so beautifully break the laws of gravity.

The highlight for me this week wasn’t just the flying birds but the different speeds and styles of their flight.

The graceful gliding on the thermals of a common buzzard and the more often seen forked tailed red kites. Both birds possessing a skill that seems to require no effort at all on their part.

then there is the grey heron looking like a giant over-feathered dart speeding away...

and the almost dizzying speed and gyrations of the common terns.

The flash of electric blue is often all you’ll see of the beautiful kingfishers as they fly down the river, normally too fast to focus on and snap.

The dark deadliness of the low flying cormorant which i think of as the natural stealth bomber of the lake.

The different formations of geese, from the stereotypical V to a vertical or horizontal convoy, to the occasional one flying solo. (Did you spot the odd one out?

So, I commend spending some time to simply observe and absorb the many wonders of nature you’ll find around this beautiful lake. Enjoy everything it has to offer including those ‘law-breaking’ birds in flight.