August 7th _ I spotted this strutting juvenile heron on the Tame Valley Canal at Hamstead, Birmingham, on a sunny afternoon. Displaying a good bit more bombast than most herons, he wasn’t scared of me and performed wonderfully on the opposite bank, stalking, preening and strolling.
I love herons. They always look like eccentric old men; dishevelled, preoccupied and slightly mad.
June 4th – The disappointments of the day were compensated for handsomely by the herons on the canal. Even the darkest bits of the industrial Black Country – and I hit the Tame Valley Canal, which has some very grim bits indeed – was host to these fine fishers. Oddly twitchy, it was difficult to get any pictures, but this fine fellow obliged in Rushall. Death on two legs to it’s hapless prey, I must have seen ten or more of these dishevelled, rickety looking birds. Also prolific were the common terns, whose missile-like fishing skills have to be seen to be believed.
June 8th – A trip into the Black Country is always a fine excuse to hit the Tame Valley Canal. A lovely, historic run through cuttings and over high aqueducts takes in the best, and the worst, of the area. Today the canal was busy with boats heading north to the Pelsall Canal Festival and a benevolent wind blew me from west to east. Here at Ray Hall, crossing the motorway is always a cause for amusement. Good evening, lemmings…
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 