Tag: wildlife

May 3rd – Meet the avian hoover of the trailhead cafe at Ashbourne. This cheeky fellow evaded most of my attempts to photograph him, but he would flit between the table I was sitting at, the kiosk hatch, and the ground under the table. That’s the crumbs from my muffin he’s got there.

April 26th – I spotted her on the opposite bank of the canal from Clayhanger Common. Sat on the canalside verge at the bottom of Silver Street, Brownhills, a proud mallard mum with a brood of very young ducklings, mostly well tucked in underneath and shielded by her wings. 

I’ve never seen a mallard do this before. The motherly pride in her offspring is quite clear – I found it delightful.

April 23rd – First time my deer magnet has been switched on for weeks. Just over Jockey Meadows, 200 metres or so from the site of the flytipping in the last post, two red deer hinds. One older than the other, both wathced me nervously from right at the bottom of the field, near the brook. These are very long-range photos, so apologies for the poor quality. 

Both ladies were in the moult, so looked a bit threadbare, but otherwise appeared healthy enough. I think they’re part of a larger herd that loafs in the scrub there.

Nice to see them, and a sign as to why we need to look after our vital green spaces like Jockey Meadows and work against the kind of environmental damage caused by the flytipping shown in the previous post.

15th April – I noted when passing this evening that the field of oilseed rape at Grange Farm, on the Walsall Wood – Shelfield border was nearly fully in flower. The scent doesn’t seem to have risen yet, but it is beautiful. I love this stuff; such a striking sight in the countryside.

Even quite late this field was alive with bugs, bees and butterflies. Which has to be a good thing…

April 8th – Another heron. I think the spring has brought them out – this one was near Bentley Bridge, stood watching the word go by from, ironically enough, a fishing peg. Older than the one I saw last Friday, and larger, he was a an impressive bird.

Can’t get enough herons – never saw them as a kid; they’re a sign of a healthy fish population, I’d tenure.

April 7th – Damn me, but this squirrel seems happy. Mind, he ought to be; he’s living in the hazel copse just opposite the Watermead in Brownhills. The cheeky little fellow didn’t scarper until I came quite close. 

I’d swear he’s laughing there…

If Gradboy is reading this, sorry mate, but it was too good to miss… 

April 6th – Bless her, she’s sitting again. For what is the third (or maybe fourth) year, the Catshill swan couple have made a nest in the remnants of the one from the previous year, and they appear to be sitting. 

In previous years, the labour has been fruitless; despite laying eggs, the couple have so far been cygnetless. 

I’ve felt sorry for them for too many seasons. Let’s hope they get it together this year, eh?

April 5th – I’ll never make a wildlife photographer – or indeed, any type of photographer – as long as I have breath in my body. I rode up onto the dam bridge at Chasewater, and passed the time of day with a great friend I happened to meet there by chance. As we chatted, I spotted a crested grebe on the water in front of us. I joked that every time you take a picture, they dive just before you hit the button. I was moderately lucky on two shots out of 11.

I don’t think Simon King will ever have anything to worry about. But I do love these gorgeous little birds.

April 4th – Riding a bike is a cyclic antidepressant, and riding one once a day keeps the black dog at bay. I was sad, really sad, but something on the way home cheered me right up. A young heron, fishing by Clayhanger Bridge on the canal. I can’t ever recall seeing one here before, but I love these comical, dishevelled fishers. He was hungry, and young enough not to be skittish. He tolerated me taking photos for ages. He made me remember what I was doing, and what I was about. 

I adore herons. Such complex, fascinating birds.

It’s taken me all weekend to pluck up the balls to write this sequence.