My A – Z of Birding, Blogging and Volunteering Part 6

Here we go with the next three letters of my wander through the alphabet of my personal experiences and highlights of the past few years of being involved with RSPB Cymru and the natural world at large …

O is for … Oystercatcher

One thing my blogs try to do is big it up for the little guy. The overlooked bird that is so common place it is deemed mundane. I have championed the humble Dunnock, the poor little brown job which has the most amazing social life, and would quite easily release the bird equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey if it could write! I have reminded you of how the House Sparrow was once an integral part of our background lives, and how we have driven a once common place bird to the edge of population collapse. This is why I have chosen O to highlight a bird that is often glanced over when you are looking at the mudflats of an estuary.

The Oystercatcher is a predominantly black and white bird which Mother Nature somewhere along the line decided to give a comedy bill! It is blessed with a bright, carrot orange, bill which in is fact a wonderful tool for picking out molluscs from the silt, from which it gets its name. Birding history is littered with unfortunately named birds, the Oystercatcher used to be called the Sea Pie, which I am sure conjures up the same image in your head as mine! It was then renamed, and you guessed it, studies then revealed that they very rarely, if ever, eat oysters. They live on a diet of soft bodied invertebrates and far prefer mussels. They will also venture in land and eat earthworms and other gastropods. There is evidence that the bill shape varies dependant on its primary diet. So the next time you are out by the coast and these wonderful waders are around, take a closer look at that wonderful beak!

P and Q are for … Peace And Quiet

I am quite into loud music, and have been for a very long time now, so it always comes as a bit of a surprise to most people that my hobby is bird watching. I am often asked by family members how can you sit somewhere so quiet for so long when the rest of the time you are immersed in the sounds of electric guitars and thumping bass lines. The answer is simple, everyone needs an escape. There is no better escape than sitting with the sun on your back, looking out over a lagoon or lake, watching Great Crested Grebes, or Tufted Ducks or any other wildfowl, simply going about their business. Getting a nice photo is always a bonus to me. I very rarely go out with the intention to see or photograph something in particular.

The sounds coming from woodland at first light or from an unseen warbler in the reed beds can provide the soundtrack to your nature watching. The gentle plop of a water vole entering the water can have you scanning the edge of the banking’s for a sighting of this elusive rodent. Even the sound of wind rustling through the tree canopy can just life your spirits.

Right now a simple five minute visit to the back garden is a small moment of tranquillity. We have Chiffchaffs calling from the local allotment. The House Sparrows are taking aphids from our rose bush for their first brood of the new season. The Jackdaws … well they are behaving like naughty children, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Most of all the sound of the approaching summer is in the air, with the screaming of half a dozen Swifts over my chimney pots. They have arrived in the past five days, and I just love standing, looking up and watching these sky dancers perform the most incredible aerial acrobatics whilst looking for small insects to refuel them after their long journey from Africa.

In a modern world where we are surrounded by a cacophony of industrial white noise, just take a moment to let your mind wander and wonder at what those Swifts must have experienced over the previous weeks just to come to our Principality to share a few precious months with us.

A wander around a nature reserve, or your local trail can be a wonderful de-stressing tool and it is, by and large, free for everyone, so why not take advantage of this weekend’s sunshine and immerse yourself in a bit of peace and quiet!

© All Images Anthony Walton