It certainly has been a long time since I last posted some of my 'mad cap' wildlife adventures on here! Unfortunately time has been against me and my back and hip injury have been somewhat restricting over recent months limiting both my time out and my concentration for posting about it on here!
This week I have returned from a two week break at a rehabilitation centre where I received extensive physio and treatment for my injury. This seems to have worked quite well and at least given me a little more range of movement.
Many of you will be well aware of the Ospreys that have suddenly turned up at Blagdon and Chew Valley Lakes. These birds have cause quite a stir and present a very interesting story of where they originally come from etc. Perthshire is one location with this bird being a very mature specimen! (Further details about their history can be found through the link below)
I obviously had to see these birds as I hadn't had the pleasure of an Osprey before and certainly not on my home patch of North Somerset!!
As I was looking after my 5yr old daughter on the day of my planned visit I ended up with a few 'conditions!' Below is a copy of my post on the RSPB Community Forum site. As it was so well received so I thought I'd share my mad ramblings on here with you also!...
My first OSPREY! On my patch!.. OH and 'blackmailed' by a 5yr old!!!
Hi All,
I had one of those
moments today where I seen one of those 'must see' birds and even better it was
on my own patch!! (thought I'd gone to heaven!!)
Yesterday I got
that email we all dream of from a friend telling me that there were three
Ospreys showing well at Blagdon & Chew Valley Lakes! Typically I couldn't
get down there yesterday due to work commitments! (that just
about guarantees that they will have moved on by today!!)
Today I had the day
off work to look after my 5yr old daughter, so after some gentle persuasion we
set off on an 'adventure' loaded with feed for the swans and ducks and lots of
camera gear!
The bucket load of
feed (please note proper feed mix not bread) was part of my daughters
'blackmail' to allow me out to try and see the Osprey!
The rest of the
'blackmail' included:
- A
lunch time break at a cafe of her choice for 'jammy toast' & warm
milk! Oh and a large slab of cake of her choice!!!
- A
packet of crisps for the journey
- A
bag of chocolate buttons for mid morning snack
- Trips
to two different play parks between viewings
- Permanent
use of my spare pair of binoculars
- And
finally one of my made up 'Flossy the Dog' stories at bedtime, but it had
to last at least half an hour apparently!!
I am beginning to
wonder what she is learning at school!!! No wonder she loves it so much, last
term must have been 'how to trade and broker the best deal with your parents' I
reckon!!!!!!....
Anyway despite
being bullied by a five year old we eventually arrived at the damn wall on
Blagdon Lake just as an Osprey headed straight at the car! You can guess what
happened next!?.... it was 'abandon the car' time and then just enough
time to grab the camera and shoot on whatever settings it was on before the
bird slipped out of view behind some trees!
You guessed it
looking back through the screen the pictures were way too dark and I imagined
unusable, drat!!
We wandered along
the damn wall, me in my drab colours and camo and Chloe in bright pink hat,
scarf, gloves and coat!! I'm sure another part of the bribe!
Chatting to a few
other birders (who were now donning dark sunglasses to block out the shine from
Chloe's almost florescent pink 'gear') and they informed us that the Osprey had
been about a lot during the morning and this was the 'key' place to stand and
get a shot at it!
Luckily our new
(now blinded) best buddies were right and the bird came straight at us and then
over head before disappearing down the valley on the other side of the hedge
behind us! What a sight that was, my first proper detailed view of
this magnificent bird!
I think that this
was probably the best view of the day and although not the greatest pictures
the best of a bad bunch, but cracking to me just for the record and memory if
nothing else!....
1.
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3.
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4.
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So there you have
it lots of 'bribery' and a great sighting!
Was it worth
it??...
Well I reckon the
day cost me about £20, a bucket full of feed and a pair of binoculars!!!
What I gained? A
great sighting, A really enjoyable day out, watching my daughter not only enjoy
what she wanted to do but being completely thrilled by the Osprey also!
OH Yes, it was
worth every second & every penny!!
What did 'Flossy
the Dog' do in the bedtime story?.....
Well 'Flossy the
Dog' had a great adventure out with his dad (Mr Flossy!) and they went to a
magic hill top and watched magic birds flying around in the valley below
them!..... He also took his three best friends along (Spot, Fluffy &
Floppy)..... And there was a magic fairy in there somewhere also!!
Funny but she was
really tired after all that fresh air and went to sleep with a great big smile
on here face! PRICELESS!!!...
Best
Higgy
'My first OSPREY! On my patch!.. OH and 'blackmailed' by a 5yr old!!!' was originally posted on the RSPB Communty forum. You can read the original post and all comments by clicking HERE.
On a serious note this really was a great sighting and I feel so privileged to have got some snaps of these magnificent birds! Please do read the original post and comments by clicking on the above link as it will take you to other links giving the history of these birds which is extremely interesting.
That's about it for now, it's good be back!! I do now intend to maintain this blog as I do my garden blog. Hopefully as time goes on I will brig you my own 'tongue and cheek' view of my wildlife adventures within this beautiful part of North Somerset.
Thanks for reading and see you next time....
Best
Higgy
