Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Dorney
Today's late-afternoon walk was a bit more uplifting than yesterday's, with just a light mist on the river and a big red sun.
My first water rail of the autumn was preening itself in the Roundmoor Ditch. It continued to do this quite unconcernedly while I watched it through bins and took a batch of photos (none of which was any good!). Finally it turned its back and, with a flick of its white under-tail, disappeared into the undergrowth.
Two grey wagtails were disputing territory along the ditch, and near the weir there were at least four chiffchaffs. The flood held black-headed gulls, a scatter of teal, a grey heron, a pied wagtail, two snipe, about twenty starlings and at least 150 lapwings. A Cetti's warbler was vocal and the reed-beds and banks of the stream were alive with great clouds of midges.
A new feature of the wetlands (at least I haven't noticed them before this year) is the presence of grey squirrels. The plantations are lush and wonderful, but I suppose their saplings and large shrubs were bound to attract squirrels. One of them hadn't quite learnt the ins and outs of the place; it ran along the outside of the fence as I approached, continually head-butting the wire in an attempt to escape. Eventually it gave up and ran across the track in front of me, disappearing into a plantation without a fence.
A new feature of the wetlands (at least I haven't noticed them before this year) is the presence of grey squirrels. The plantations are lush and wonderful, but I suppose their saplings and large shrubs were bound to attract squirrels. One of them hadn't quite learnt the ins and outs of the place; it ran along the outside of the fence as I approached, continually head-butting the wire in an attempt to escape. Eventually it gave up and ran across the track in front of me, disappearing into a plantation without a fence.
// posted by Christine @ 10:36 AM 
