I have always loved visiting reed-beds. Since I was tiny I have always thought there was an exciting element of mystery within the reeds. It may not be easy to actually see and identify things all the time, but I'm one of those people who doesn't really mind what it is as long as I've seen it.
At Radipole, I always like to think that I am being watched, that the Cetti's warbler are spying on me and when they 'explode' into song that they are commenting on my whereabouts. Every time I hear a 'plop' of a water vole (and if you are listening out for it, you hear many) I like to think the little mammals are off to let each other know i'm there. The huge gangs of long tailed tit that are all over Radipole at the moment seem to follow me around almost bullying me along with their incessant 'ting ting' calls and when I caught a glimpse of the beautiful kingfisher up by the North Hide it was almost like he had been posted on his perch to watch for my arrival. In short, when you walk into the reeds at Radipole you are surrounded by wildlife, alot of it.
Now for some sightings and there was quite a good one on the weekend with a common crane flying over the reserve! These very tall graceful birds were once a very common sight in Britain but were hunted to extinction 400 years ago and many of our placenames reflect this; Cranbourne for example near Wimborne literally means 'Crane river'. In a partnership with the WWT and the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust the RSPB are trying to aid these birds return, to read more have a read of this... http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/greatcraneproject/project.aspx There are now some released crane in Somerset and its nice to think that they are starting to look furthur afield. Lets hope, next time, it lands!
As winter sweeps in, expect to start catching glimpses of the elusive bittern sculking in the reeds, keep your eyes out for some very cold bearded tits and I'm quite interested in the relatively large numbers of stonechat that are poking around (there seem to be a pair hanging around the newly cut squares of reed near the visitor centre...So if you fancy wrapping up warm and getting out of the house, get down to Radipole and into the reeds, but be careful, you're being watched!
Some Bearded tits keeping their eyes on you, photo by John Crispin
Very good blog Robert, hope we hear from you more often. The photo of the bearded tits is sublime, I wonder if I could use it for the Photo of the Month comp!!?
Funny you should also mention the Crane sighting; a dog-walking friend of mine says she thought she saw one in Newton's Cove, under the Nothe at low water. Of course I said she must be mistaken and it must have been a heron! I'm just about to take the dog out now to, perhaps, apologise!!
Seize the day!