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| Smoky scenes from Reception Hide |
Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' plays in my mind as the smoke of a bonfire in the reed beds opposite the Reception Hide smothers the view of the broad. As sections of reed bed are strimmed down as part of preserving this important habitat, piles of reed are formed and burned in order to dispose of it. However, with a lack of wind, this kind of backfires on those inside the hide. Thankfully, a slight breath of wind did move away the smoke every now and then, but it still wasn't the most pleasant experience. Windows were closed for the most part to keep the worst of it out.
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| The battle between light and smoke... |
As well as smoke to endure with, it was also raining on and off throughout this morning. So it wasn't the best of days anyway. But during breaks in the showers, it was surprisingly bright and cheerful, a bit choky due to the smoke, but nonetheless, it was not too bad. Rainbows formed over the reserve, illuminating through the rising grey, billowing plumes. It was an ever changing landscape. A battle between bright light, rain and smoke with each fighting it out as the view shifted from being suffocated in thick smoke to being covered in a bright glow of blue skies and water.
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| Rain! |
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| From thick with smoke... |
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| ...to bright and cheerful all in one morning! |
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| Rainbow |
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| Grey Wagtail |
As the weather and the smoke fought it out, it made wildlife watching rather challenging. One minute I could see the ducks on the broad and the next, it was impossible to make out anything at all. The smoke did drive a lot of things away, but there was still enough out there that stuck through the worst of the choking air for me to see. There was a brief sighting of a stoat bounding right in front of the hide with it's black-tipped tail raised upwards as it flashed by from left to right through vegetation of various length. A male grey wagtail brightened up my morning with it's cheery yellow breast for a short while as it searched for food along the edge of the broad as were a few bearded tits some time later (as I was about to leave for home). Marsh harriers were few and far between today due to the smoke, though there were a few individuals that did brave through it. And as my shift neared its end, I also saw a bittern fly into the far reed bed behind the reedy islands. So despite the poor visibility at times, I actually saw quite a few great things.
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| Marsh Harrier in the smoke |
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| Bearded Tit |
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| Jay |
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| Pheasant |
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| Mallard |
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| Gadwall |
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| Shoveler |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Cobber the Black Swan |
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| Cobber chasing a Mute Swan |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Blackbird |
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| Grey Squirrel |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Chaffinch |
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