Despite the aching limbs arising from a day of toil (after yesterdays wet but rewarding session spent forcing trees into less than hospitable soils at Shasun - planting a canny blackthorn hedgerow mind), the prospects of a bit more fresh air proved enough to ensure we would escape the shackles of a warm duvet for a bit of a "trip oot". The tea and toast helped as well, and I am sure Trish appreciated me making it for her (again).
Whilst waiting for the "slap" to dry, I noticed that they were going to have a 19 gun salute at the Collingwood Memorial to mark the 200th anniversary of the real hero of Trafalgar (born in Morpeth and lived in Chirdon). As it sounded fun to see South Shields blasted to pieces (hopefully not the chippies or the great Indian restuarants), we decided to curtail the birding and visit somewhere local.
Gosforth Park Reserve then - somewhere Trish hasn't seen and just a few minutes away - brilliant! And sure enough it did not let us down as we were rewarded with a good range of birds within seconds of arrival, including great, blue, coal and long-tailed tits, great spotted woodpecker, chaffinch, robin and blackbird. Loads of badger sign and some very active latrines, suggesting these animals have been on the Dulcolax recently!
The new "flash" has grown enormously since my last visit and held wigeon, a couple of teal, assorted gulls and a few coot, accompanied by two mute swans. As we peered through the unmanaged hedge to this well hidden gem, 13 goosander flew it with a quite spectacular splash and started lording it!
Squidging through the muddy paths onto the boardwalk, we slipped our way to first one hide (obviously recently used by the army to practice urban assault) then onto the second one. Here we were rewarded with a single female goldeneye, and a good number of wigeon, mallard and 13 coot (that's where they are then!).
Heading back for a quick dash to the feeding station hide, we heard first one then and an answering water rail. Sidling up for a better look, they took fright of my bright red jacket and simply shut up (a lesson for me there I reckon). However, we were happy enough with that record and moving on were pleased to note four roe deer nearby (also flushed by the jacket - thank god there's no bulls around), quickly followed by a pair of treecreeper and then another pair, a jay and two more great spotted woodpecker.
Arriving at the hide (about four hours later because of the need to act out scenes from the Somme in transiting the pathways), we flushed another deer and then a nuthatch and mistle thrush. Swimming over to the hide proved to be less than rewarding as it only added reed bunting to the list.
Needless to say, by the time we had trekked back through the mud (we had forgotten the 4x4, sherpas and canoes - stupid idiots!), the 19 gun salute was only a few minutes away, but more minutes than we had to spare. We did make it back home, just in time for a lovely fried egg butty and chose to sit in the garden with those spuggies, straining our ears for the sound of systematic "birthday" explosions and reflecting on (i) the mud (ii) the poor state of the reserve and (iii) the usual "warm" welcome from other visitors demanding proof of NHS membership and legitimate access to THEIR private reserve. We never did hear those bangs, unless we mistook them for the remarkably regular slamming of car doors in Monkseaton at precisely 3pm?
No comments:
Post a Comment