The goldcrest is the smallest bird in the UK, at just 9cm long and weighing as little as a 20 pence piece! And they are very tricky to photograph as they don’t stay still for long and seem to enjoy staying as hidden as possible, as my first two attempts below show!
Goldcrest, Anglesey, March 2022Goldcrest, Atcham, March 2022
But recently a goldcrest has been visiting my garden – presumably there is a nest nearby – almost always to the same paving stone, to look for food, hop around quickly, and then, again quickly, fly off!
I couldn’t believe the opportunity one morning when I had my camera to hand. The shot isn’t brilliant as it’s taken through a window. And yet what an excting moment it was, to capture the lovely goldcrest in full view, with that wonderful bright yellow crest on its head.
I was very grateful for this experience, even though it was such a “little thing”!
Spring surrounds us with life, with wild life, and of course with wildlife!
On a recent visit to The Long Mynd in Shropshire (Townbrook Hollow), each encounter seems now to ask the question – whose are the hills? There were people about, and yet really the hills belong to the other inhabitants, some of whom feature below.
A red kite glided into sight, wheeling around dramatically in front of a distant Wrekin:
Looking the other way, a group of wild ponies were galloping across the slopes:
Lambs were everywhere – this was April, after all. Their curiosity is so winning: this one bravely stared at me as I snapped a shot:
But the best was saved till last: a large group of wild ponies, gathered picturesquely, firstly with Brown Clee behind them:
And then with Caer Caradoc behind. There was a very young foal in this group, still rather wobbly on its legs, still feeding occasionally from its very protective mother:
Whose are the hills?
On this occasion, I think, they belong to the ponies!
The Severn is so rewarding in its richness of wildlife and flora.
I love to spy on the shy herons and goosander, though often they see you first!
Goosanders are not widely known about. The female looks bright white in the sun with a beautiful green head, whereas the male has a very different chestnut-red head, more flattened and “swept back” than the rounded head of his mate.
(You can read a previous post about the birds of the River Severn here)
On this spring afternoon I was also blessed by the surprising sight of bees feeding in the riverside trees….
…and three different species of butterflies: tortoisehell, peacock and comma. The upside-down peacock really does give the impression of a strange owl-like creature with wide eyes!
Mute swans and Canada geese congregate on the banks as well as in the river itself, and both are stunning to watch in flight.
(You can read a previous post about geese on the River Severn and a beautiful poem by Mary Oliver here).
On my return, I nearly failed to photograph some long-tailed tits, but followed the wise naturalists’ advice: stay still and you have a 50% chance they will move towards you. On this occasion they did!
Don’t forget to check the dead tree near the start and finish: cormorants like to perch here picturesquely sometimes, their silhouettes haunting against a Shropshire sky (there weren’t any today!).
~
Parking for this walk is in the ‘I Love Plants’ car park. Cross the busy road carefully and walk right for a very short while, then over a well-hidden stile on the left, and down across the field, turning right at the river. The walk soon goes through the outskirts of a farm but then you are out into peaceful fields. If you go with others who also have a car, you can make this a linear walk, leaving one car at Atcham, though note that as of March 2022 a bridge over a ditch has been washed away in the winter flood, and you have to detour away from the river and around a hedge in order to reach the road near Atcham. You can also turn left at the river at the start and walk up towards Monkmoor, also along the river, but I find the section from I Love Plants to Atcham is the more peaceful and rewarding as it takes you further out of town rather than toward residential areas. Walking to the ditch and back is a very satisfying walk of 45mins-1 hour, and is dog-friendly.
Spring brings such beauty amongst the sadness and suffering of the world.
Mary Oliver’s poem ‘Whistling Swans” responds to nature and considers the differet kind of “prayers” that can be said:
“…prayers fly in all directions…
Even when the swans are flying north and making
such a ruckus of noise, God is surely listening
and understanding…
the swans know about as much we do about
the whole business…
So listen to them and watch them, singing as they fly.
Take from it what you can.”
from ‘Whistling Swans’
My encounter was with Canada geese on the Severn, not whistling swans, but I took from it the beauty of the spring morning, the power of the sunlight, the forces of life and goodness in the world.
And maybe the geese know about as much we do about the whole business…
Canada Geese, River Severn, Shropshire, March 2022
Lif4Gd 