Psilos Bird Journal
Monday September 8th 2008
     
"Seek and you shall not find"
 
mute swan cygnet wing pattern
 
Moses gate is a very good place for watching Kingfishers. Sometimes especially in th e depths of winter you get lucky and see them close by but not often enough. There are plenty of them around in the areas surrounding the park so decided to get out there and look. The photo below shows the regular kingfisher I see on the back lake. This photo was taken from a great distance away which is no good at all. I need to get much closer.
 
Whilst sat up on the canal the week before I saw the kingfisher fly up and down four times and at one time two together, their beautiful turquoise backs flashing in the sun piping excitedly as they flew passed. So up to the canal I went hoping to get more views of them.
As ever there is always a heron to be found sitting here. They look into the water from high up on the canal bank. Why they do that I do not know as they cannot reach it from where they are sitting. Anyway I left him to his hunt and carried on looking.
There is a family of Mute swans on the canal with three cygnets almost fully grown. The sun came out for a little while so I laid in the grass and watched them. Constantly I kept a vigilence for the tell tale pipe of the Kingfisher but at no point did he show himself. It is the usual story that when you are not looking they are there and when you make an effort to go find them they disappear. Still I will carry on looking.
 

Back in the park and there is much activity. Something has paniced the swans. At a guess someones dog is on the loose yet again.
 
The Great crested grebes continue to be a disappointment. Even a week after this photo was taken I have checked and the chicks are still sticking close to the nest. I can only hope that sometime soon they will get more adventurous and come closer. Still it is good to see all three chicks doing so well.
 
 
The numbers of Cormorants has risen in the last week. There were two today with six being present a week later. I wish there had been more light when these were taken.
 
 
 
 
You also know winter is coming when large numbers of Tufted duck and Coot start to appear. The Tufteds here are very tame and are a joy to watch and photograph. Not a bad way to end the day.