June 5th – It was another miserable day, but the wildlife at Chasewater was showing well. There were several deer on the north heath, but it was this stray hind that caught my eye. Hanging around the railway line, she seemed to be after food, but didn’t sam to quite trust me. Coming quite close at times, the scene was spoiled, as it usually is in summer, by an idiot with a dog off the lead.
June 4th – The weather was spectacular, and Chasewater and it’s surrounds looked beautiful. The sun gradually emerged through the afternoon and the day got brighter. The flowers are gorgeous right now, and everything is just so green. After a frankly grim weekend, it’s easy to forget how lovely everything becomes after a few minutes of sunshine…
May 20th – I escaped late afternoon, and headed over Chasewater to Cannock Chase. It was a pleasant, warm afternoon and evening, and the Chase and countryside around it was pretty deserted. Whilst the swans I was watching don’t appear to have had success (although both birds are still hanging around the nest, which seems odd) couples elsewhere seem to be doing well. I noticed a pair nesting on one of the ‘orphan’ pools in Chasewater’s northern lakebed. Secluded by reeds and young willows, they have a very well protected nest, and had the sun not been shining on them, I’d never have noticed. Meanwhile, on the canal at Rugeley, this pair of proud (and surprisingly tolerant) parents allowed me to photograph their seven healthy cygnets.
May 11th – Sunset was beautiful today. As I cycled my usual route to Chasewater along the canal – essential to check on progress of the swans, I stopped in awe to check out the sunset on the water. After so many grim days lately, it was a pleasure to explience a beautiful, light sunny evening. But it was bitterly cold. At Chasewater itself, I noted that the secondary culvert was now totally submerged, and the water levels were still rising well. I watched the sun set for a while over the western shore, but was so cold, I headed home earlier than I had intended. It’s summer, Jim, but not as we know it.
May 5th – Chasewater’s refilling has slowed up with the cessation in rain, but my, how it’s changing. All the land drains and streams are flowing well, with water also coming in from the new culvert in the railway causeway, under Turner’s Hill. The secondary outlet culvert is nearly submerged now, and sailing or windsurfing is clearly on the menu as new marker bouys have been laid around it to warn of the hazard. Grass growing on the formerly dry lake bed is now submerged, and looks like reed beds from afar. Many of the smaller pools are steadily linking together.
A fantastic thing to witness, for sure.
May 3rd – The birdlife is engaging at the moment. Swallows and martins dipped over the water at Chasewater, and a couple of crested grebes slid past as I took photos from the dam. Meanwhile, down on the canal, Mrs. Swan still sits on her eggs. Today, she was being tended to by her partner. I found this interesting – he doesn’t normally seem to be in close proximity much. I wondered if it was a sign of hatching imminent. He swam over to me as I studied them, and hissed darkly. He’s going to be a whole bundle of fun if there’s cygnets around.
May 3rd – Curiosity got the better of me, so on the way home from work I cycled over to Chasewater to see how the water levels were going. There’s been a quite marked rise since Sunday, as runoff and the streams and creeks that supply the reservoir catch up with the recent weather. I feel the most interesting stage of the gradual refilling will come inn about a metre’s time, when the pool at the foot of the pier rejoins the main lake. However, that will require far more water, and far more bad weather. I’m currently getting webbed feet as it is…
April 29th – I held back all day, hoping to avoid the wind and rain. Sneaking out late, the rain stopped and the cloud fractured. I headed for Chasewater, and I noticed this damp mum and daughter in a field adjacent to the old Highfield House on Pool Road. The hardiness of horses never ceases to amaze me, and this frisky little foal was joyous. As Mike Hawes pointed out on his tumblr over the weekend, spring is really here now.
April 28th – I headed up to Chasewater on my way to Burntwood, to check out the water level. Last week, the water was only lapping at the right hand side of the mound around the drain culvert – soon it will be submerged. I noticed the grass – encouraged by the earlier rain – now submerged. I have no figures, but would guess the water has risen by about half a meter. This is good, but don’t be fooled; for every centimetre the water rises, the area of the lake increases massively. The journey to 75% full will be a lot quicker than the one from 75%-100%. It is good to see, though…
April 28th – I spotted this bird of prey hovering, almost totally still, over the heath by Anglesey Basin at Chasewater. He’s an interesting character. I know what species I think he is, but I’m unhappy about the details. Can any birders help? Many folk don’t realise that Brownhills is host to loads of species of birds of prey – from Owls to Buzzards to very occasionally, Kites.
This fellow was certainly an impressive sight. Sorry about the poor photos, it was nearly 7pm and the light was lousy.
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