Between Showers

Have you seen the rain? It had been a very, very soggy week with lots and lots of rain and very, very high winds. It was falling cats and dogs out there and moi and the garden were loving it. I don’t have to water them and everything had suddenly grown whoosh and lush.

It was  St. Swithin’s Day on Thursday. According to the legend, if it rains on this day, it will rain for the next 40 days!!!

'St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin's day if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.'

and I bet these ducks were praying that the above sayings were true :-). Hopefully the reservoirs would fill up and the hose-pipe ban lifted.

Today we managed to dodge the rain and we drove down to check if the ospreys at Rutland Waters were still around. This was our 3rd trip and everytime we went, the GPS kept on directing us to a different route. This time we managed to bypass Leicester but drove through Loughborough. I’m sure there must be an easier route than this???

We went to the Lyndon Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve which lies on the South Shore of the Rutland Water. From the visitor centre, we were greeted by this adorable pair of kestrel chicks checking things out. The long drive was definitely worthwhile.

The sun came out to play and the path was filled with hundreds of fluttering butterflies and singing grasshoppers. We kept on stopping to photograph Commas, Speckled Woods, Gatekeepers, Marbled Whites, Small Coppers, Red Admirals, simply stunning.

We walked straight to the Shallow Water hide where the ospreys were nesting. We were soo lucky cos we could see the three healthy chicks  and their parents on the nest.  They were now about 7 weeks old and we could see them beginning to flap their wings as they prepare to make their first flights.

We saw the parents hunting by hovering over the water and bringing their catch to the nest. By late August or early September, the young leave their nest sites and head southwards. The majority of the Rutland Ospreys winter in West Africa. Have a safe journey and hoped to see you again. It was good to see such a successful project accomplished.

From the hide too, we saw hundreds of chilled-out coots. Usually they were always in a mood for a fight.  We were engrossed by these beautiful Egyptian geese. Just look at their distinctive dark brown eye-patches. They were introduced as an ornamental wildfowl species but escaped into the wild and successfully breeding in a feral state. We also saw Shelducks and a lonely Barnacle Goose.

On Saturday, we made our way to the tip to dump a microwave. It was quite disheartening to throw it away but nobody wants it. I even called the Coventry Cyrenians, a homeless charity, if anyone was interested. They said that someone was but no one called to collect. We gave them a week and it was cluttering the casa. So…

Then a trip to Brandon Marsh under the showers.  At the visitor centre, we saw this juvenile wood-pecker helping himself to the bird-feeder. It was lovely to see him swaying and dangling from side to side. I bet the rest of the other feathered  pals wasn’t that pleased.

We quickened our pace in case the heavens opened. Luckily there were plenty of hides to shelter. We stopped at one of the pools and were gifted with this Southern Hawker emerging from the water. We stood there transfixed watching him drying in the sun.  Utterly gorgeous.

From Baldwin Hide we saw the fluffy tern chicks. They have grown real quick. At Teal Hide, there were 3 Sandpipers feeding in the mudbanks. The rain had managed to fill the pool. Opposite East Marsh Pool, we saw the Sedge Warbler flirting in and out of the reeds. I was soo busy watching him that I missed this Water Rail running across the mud-bank. Sigh!!!

Then it was a quick dash home before the heavens opened again.

During the week, I attended a ‘compulsory’ Staff Open Day. There were a few sessions on new projects run by members of staff. I attended the Reading List Database Project and as usual suggested a few ideas for them. I could have given more but didn’t want to monopolise the talk:-)

Then it was on the work done by the International Students Group and I volunteered my ‘expertise’. I felt that I’ve got something to offer since I came from that background. My last session was the Standardisation Committee project. Since 2 of my colleagues were in the team, I decided to keep quiet.

It was a good excuse to be away from the desk. We had a chance to meet new members of the staff and exchange views and ideas. The lunch was good too. The afternoon session on Disability was a bit of a let down. Too much was focused on the students and not the staff!!

During one of my lunch break,  I walked to the Heronbank site to see if the swan family was around. They were still there and all 5 cygnets survived. Fantastic. They looked like gawky teenagers still in their dowdy grey fluff but otherwise healthy. It was good to see them.

I also observed a flock of grey wagtails. Usually, I only see one or two about. They were all over the mudbanks, feeding, tails wagging and playing tag. They were flying from one end of the lake to the other with their sharp thrills calling. I could have stayed here the whole day just watching them. I must come here again.

Babe was in Brandon Marsh when he took this  lovely shot of a heron trying to land gracefully.  It reminded me of the African American entertainer, Josephine Baker (1906-1975). Could you see the resemblance??

 

Lets hope that once this low-pressure is over, we will return to the fantastic hot weather we have been having. We can’t grumble about the rain. We’d seen the sun for weeks and it was nice to have the rain. It kept my hay fever at bay and the air much fresher. But a little more Vitamin D would be nice :-)

Here’s me impersonating an osprey.  This lovely sculpture greets visitors into the reserve. Nearby was a stack of sticks and before you leave you were encouraged to add another stick to build a huge osprey nest. It was a very nice touch to end a lovely day out.