Exeter birding

A stroll around the floodplain at Exeter on Sunday morning produced two incidents which made me smile and a few additions to the year list.

Any spot of birdwatching in January may add a few birds to the growing year list (not a massive priority for me but fun to see the list growing). As we walked in the sunshine, one of us said ‘It’s probably too flooded for there to be a Kingfisher here’, when, of course, a Kingfisher flashed past and then perched and fished for a few minutes. Yes, a first for the year, but a Kingfisher is a good bird to see any day of any year.

A little further on, by the allotments, and opposite where a group of three mums with prams and pushchairs were doing exercises with their trainer, a female Stonechat was perched – another new bird for 2014.

Farther down a Grey Wagtail fed on the edge of the flood water – another new bird for 2014.

A group of people were trying to feed ducks but were actually feeding gulls outside the house of the local MP.  I noticed a line of Cormorants (what beautiful birds they are!) waiting to harass him.

We arrived at the Double Locks pub to see a Mute Swan with its head and neck stuck through some bits of metal  in the fast-flowing water of the lock.  It looked a bit odd but I wasn’t at all sure this was a bird in distress.  A couple of couples were much more worried and one of the women was getting agitated and wanted her partner to do something about it. When he tried to do the only thing he could practically do about it, and reached towards the ‘trapped’ bird she shouted at him to stop because it ‘will break your arm!’.  I was glared at by some of my companions for throwing my head back and laughing like mad at this.  It is rare that you see a rural myth trotted out so clearly – and it was coupled with a ‘domestic’ scene of the bloke being told to do something and told not to do it at the same time. Who wouldn’t laugh? But I was glared at.

We consulted on the plight of the swan and I said that I thought that a good pint of beer in my hand would probably lead to the swan ‘saving’ itself but I was wrong – it had saved itself before I got the excellent pint of Youngs Winter Warmer – another first for 2014.

It was a short stroll back but we paused on a bridge over a fast-flowing watercourse. A police car parked on the other side of the bridge and a rotund policeman got out and came over to us, asking us how long we had been there. We said about five minutes.

Policeman: you haven’t seen a man in camouflage with a gun, and lots of people running around screaming have you?

Us: ‘wrinkled brow of deep thought’ No!

Policeman: if you do, then don’t approach him!

Us: if we do, we’ll let you know.

That would have been a first for 2014 too.

As it is, my avian year list is in the mid 80s – very modest. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if I have already seen around half the bird species that I will in the UK this year.  My aim is to enjoy and understand what I do see.

 

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