Going urban in search for food
Squeezing every second of enjoyment out of a Government-approved exercise routine is all the more enjoyable while keeping an eye out for wildlife.
Nature nurtured me through the last lockdown with long countryside walks, made all the more glorious by spring sunshine and the song of newly arrived migrant birds.
Nine months on, the winter landscape is frosty under foot and bereft of the joyous sounds of skylarks on the wing and warblers reciting territorial songs.
At this time of year, sullen fields and leaden skies are tough work for the birdwatcher, yet head into an urban park and there are surprising delights to be found.
Inner city streams and rivers can be surprisingly good places to get a dose of those feelgood hormones that come from making unexpected discoveries.
Such built-up areas often have their own mild microclimates that are warm enough to provide nourishing invertebrates in the height of winter and, when rural watercourses are freezing over, birds are quick to seek out these ice-free food supplies.
Brilliant kingfishers, wary water rails and chiffchaffs are not fussy about an unprepossessing environment if there is live food to be found.
The early days of 2021 have seen me traipsing around the suburban sources of the River Lea and Great Ouse, tallying a surprising number of species I would usually expect to count during a proper day’s birding on a nature reserve.
A pair of stonechats in shades of rusty brown were busying themselves on rough ground awaiting the rumble of bulldozers for a new housing development.
Small pools carved out to make drainage systems were hosting a large flock of gulls as well as gadwall and mallards.
Buzzards and red kites soared overhead. A kestrel hovered, eyes on the look-out for an unwary vole. Then came a flash of brilliant yellow on the gloomiest of days.
Grey wagtail by name, but not by nature. Nothing reminds the soul of sunshine quite like these striking birds, more at home in mountain streams than tiptoeing on the margins of a scruffy suburban ditch, yet still flashing their lemon-hued markings to brighten the day.
A flash of yellow on a gloomy day. Grey wagtail by name, not by nature...