Winter 2010 January
Dawn
On pre-dawn banks of frozen lake
the silver swans asleep.
The trees, all stark with icicles,
stark shelter for the sheep.
Now through the skeleton branches
an icy east wind blows
the frost from black lace tree tops,
disturbing rooks and crows.
Their strident cries declare the dawn
as silver turns to gold,
and red-gold fox slinks stealthily,
eyes screwed against the cold.
Across the chilly hillside
many other creatures pass,
betrayed by clear dark footprints
cut clean in frosty grass.
In the distance there, the village,
still in sleeping silhouette,
and in the cosy cottages
nobody stirring yet.
The valley stretches languidly,
as colours one by one
flow liquid o’er the landscape,
awakened by the sun.
By Geraldine Alldridge
1st New Years Day 2010! Went over to the Deer Park, very cold as it has been since before Christmas and still snow around.
Before I left I saw a number of redwings feeding on the holy berries and perching on the ash tree at the front of the house. A lovely thrush which migrates down from Scandinavia and over winters here together with the fieldfare a much larger thrush, nearly as big as a mistlethrush.
Over at the park it was a bit quiet, just a pair of mallards, starting to get together now and a moorhen on the small lake.
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2nd Redwings still feeding on the holly berries, quite a small flock and accompanied by two or three blackbirds. When I left off photographing them there was still a lot of berries left on the tree that afternoon but the following morning it was almost striped bare! I could only see the odd one or two left!
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3rd Still some redwings on the holly, scavenging for what was left of the berries.
Went over to West Hythe, still very cold and the canal had a thin coating of ice between the bridge and the weir but beyond that in the Romney Marsh direction it was clear.
A fellow birdwatcher pointed out a kingfisher perched on a branch by the canal making the most of the clear water. One or two herons in the field next to the canal and a black-headed gull catching fish by the weir together with a little grebe.
On the way back to the car park I saw an old moorhens nest from last spring still hanging on and it wont be long before spring will be making its self felt, with snowdrops coming through soon and the rooks starting to repair there nests.
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16th All this cold snowy weather is really getting in the way of me getting out but tomorrow Sunday looks like its going to be sunny! Watch this space!
17th A brief visit to Russel Gardens in the afternoon. Not a lot around apart from the usual coots, mallards and moorhens but there was a pair of little grebes and a lot of black headed gulls after some bread which some one was throwing in, all ways a good way to get some good shots of them in flight.
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24th West Hythe to see what was going on but still a bit quiet, nice view of a goldfinch and a male blackbird though. Wont be long before these birds will be looking for mates and nesting.
After this I went over to Dimchurch beach but again quiet, did get a shot of a pied wagtail on the sea wall.
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26th Over at the Deer Park, due to all the snow we had had there was some flooding in a cops by the lane leading to the park. In the park there was a heard of fallow deer in the ferns and some in the field the other side of the fence on the south side.
Back near the car park there was a few great tits and coal tits looking for food under the beach trees together with a grey squirrel.
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29th Clear night sky with a beautiful full moon!
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31st At Chilham lake, most of the lake was frozen over which meant all the birds were together on what was clear. Lots of coots with some of them marching over the ice, mute swans, cormorants roosting in a tree on the island, tufted ducks, great crested grebe, moorhens and black headed gulls.
Got a nice shot of a female blackbird and one of an immature black headed gull.
Watched as a mute swan tried to get to some bread, you can see here the ice as it broke through it and then climbed on to it but it was a slippery walk for it with a lot of sliding about.
From here I drove to the other side of Canterbury to Stodmarsh where there were a few wigeon [ a type of duck] on the lake.
The reed beds all ways look nice here, there tall stems and fluffy heads swaying in the wind and a small flock of sheldducks flew in from the east adding to the beauty of the place.
On the way back I stopped off at the hide nearest to the car park and was lucky to see a bittern fly over which was a good ending to the day.
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At the start of the last week of January my good friend Val Baker took these great shots of mating herons at the heronry on the island in the lake at Kelsey Park, Beckenham, Kent, this is north Kent on the edge of London.
The herons here were busy repairing nests and there was a report of eggs in one nest, this is so early compared to the heronry down here on the Kent coast where I haven't seen any sign of herons at the heronry at West Hythe! I think it must be that the former is in a suburb which is warmer and has lots of fish ponds!
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