View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY... AGAIN

IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY... AGAIN

There are some times of the year when Old Moor's lake and the skies above it are filled with birds. Spring and Autumn are the best examples, when we see migrants coming and going in all direction, stopping off for their proverbial motorway service station break and resting up before The Big Push. And there are other months where there seems to be nothing at all on our main mere for weeks on end. We have a few ducks in eclipse mode, some gulls squabbling for food and some Coots squabbling because they just like squabbling. That's all that we see at these times. Nature just seems to be waiting for something to change. Guess which kind of pattern we're in at the moment?

In search of some highlights to pass on to visitors I asked our Warden Dave if he'd seen anything of note on his early morning walk.

“Nothing. It's like Groundhog Day out there. Everything's the same as yesterday. And the day before. And the day before.”

Right then, cheers Dave. So what can I tell the paying public to enthuse them about the site? Now I wouldn't dream of telling our illustrious warden that he was wrong but... he was wrong. Just don't tell him I said that. OK, so perhaps no new birds had dropped in overnight. Sadly we're a bit far from the coast for an ultra-rare migrant to get blown in from overseas, all bedraggled, starving and most of all a magnet for birdwatchers from miles around. We wish. It's true that our regulars who come every day wouldn't find any species different to the ones they saw a day or two beforehand, but if they cared to look closely and with a bit of an open mind then there's a huge difference to be seen.

The 'same birds, different day' scenario in which we find ourselves gives us a chance to follow individual birds and other creatures on repeat viewing, without being distracted by a flashy new arrival. We have a chance to observe them going about their daily lives in a way that we really can't when there's a lot of movement around the reserve.

We can see an individual Kingfisher's hunting technique, how he picks one particular branch from which he has good visibility and then returns to it after each hunting dive, whether successful or not. If he and we are really lucky then he can continue feeding at the same place for an hour or more.

We can study the ongoing power struggle between a Buzzard and a Barn Owl as they sit in close proximity, giving off body language so subtle that we can only guess its meaning. Eventually over a period of hours or days, one will get the message – 'You're not welcome here, this is my patch' – and feel duty bound to leave the area. My money's on the owl.

There's a Stoat on the reserve at the moment that looks a lot whiter than expected. Is this just a particularly pale individual or has the Yuletide snap of very cold weather triggered a partial coat colour transformation? In Scotland where temperatures are generally lower than here in the Dearne Valley, they sometimes turn completely white to blend in with the snow. Could our animal be experiencing a kind of halfway attempt at this due to our recent sub-zero chill? Or is it just a freaky mutation like a leucistic Blackbird sporting a few white feathers?

And there may be fewer creatures around but the life and death battles are still going on much the same as normal. For example I and several others watched in awe as a different, much younger Stoat flushed and pounced upon a rat that was almost the same size as itself. There was much shrieking, fur flying and shedding of blood but after around five minutes the Stoat was victorious, trotting off with his neck muscles bulging as he carried his prize meal to Stoaty Central. He certainly deserved his huge meal that night.

All of these astounding sights and many more have been enjoyed by visitors to Old Moor over the festive holidays. So Warden Dave was right. The list of species on our sightings board does indeed show that there have been very few changes over the last few weeks. Those visitors who come solely to get a spotter's tick for each kind of bird they've seen throughout the year could potentially go home with no new additions, even this early into 2023. But Dave also knows that if we just look, just be patient, just enjoy and appreciate, there's a world of delights waiting to be discovered.

So come and have a look for yourself. The creatures here might do something that you haven't seen them do before. Whatever it is, it'll be what they want to – what they have to do to survive – not what you want them to do. Live with it and learn to love it because, whether we appreciate it or not, it'll be something amazing.