Two days in the hide.

Following my day off on Friday I was posted to hide duty over Easter weekend.  This involved me spending time in one of the hides, with a telescope, talking to visitors about the birds we could see.  I can remember thinking to myself a number of times over the two days, ‘hmm, is this really work?’.

The job was made even more gratifying when various people, often youngsters, exclaimed surprise at seeing a bird they’d maybe never seen before, up close through the scope.  Nature is amazing, and doesn’t take much selling – hopefully a few more kids will now grow up knowing this, and one of them could end up in a position to make a serious difference to our future.

I was also regaled with stories from a  number of local regulars, one of which showed me a picture that he’d taken at the reserve two weeks earlier, of a White Tailed Eagle.  The Eagle had been released nearby last year, as part of a reintroduction programme, hence it had blue tags on its wings.  In the picture the Eagle was flying low, maybe 2 or 3 feet over the water, wings outstretched to slow itself down, and a few feet in front of it were two Swans rearing up out of the water to face it, both also with wings outstretched.

The Eagle is huge. It’s wings almost span the width of both swans standing together.  Unfortunately I can’t remember if I asked the question as to what happened next, because I was so fascinated by the picture.

I was also lucky enough to see some birds I’ve never seen before, as well as get some great views of some amazing birds that I never tire of seeing (not that I ever tire of seeing any wild animal in its natural environment, but I must admit I have favourites), such as Widgeon, Teal and Ospreys.  Of my firsts, I did just catch a glimpse of a Sand Martin, and the other is pictured below.

Today I had a day off – I get two a week, just not necessarily at the weekends – and the weather hasn’t been welcoming, so I’ve been catching up with (digital) paperwork.