 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Mouse over for submenus where applicable |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
|
One of our favourite nearby places is Kempton Nature Reserve, a former reservoir, between the A316 and Kempton Park racecourse. Although we have lived in this area for many years and knew that there were water works in that area, we were not aware of the nature reserve until early in 2006. View my first film of the reserve, and my second film is coming soon. Here’s the view from the West Hide on 19th May, 2006, our first visit.
Below is a plan of the reserve.
And here’s the view from above.
How we found the Reserve I was looking at the BBC website early in 2006 and saw a reference to a booming bittern, a shy and secretive bird of which Alice is rightly fond. At Easter 2005, we were on holiday in Suffolk. We were visiting a nature area which had an information centre. Inside there was a display about local birds, and it was possible to press buttons to hear the call of each different bird. I pressed the button to hear the call of the bittern and it sounds somewhat like someone blowing over the top of an empty milk bottle. The following day we visited Minsmere nature reserve and as we were walking through the woodland I suddenly thought I heard a bittern making its familiar booming sound. I alerted Alice but she had not heard it. A few moments later I heard It again, and then a third time. Soon after we came across a warden from the reserve and he confirmed that I had probably heard a booming bittern. Unfortunately we never actually saw the bittern. Anyway, I've digressed slightly. The link on the BBC website led us to a Thames Water website. We contacted the warden on the number we found and arranged for a visit. Soon after we became members, and now regularly visit the nature reserve every two or three weeks. I’m the one who is occasionally heard to say, “Oh, look, there’s a magpie.” Alice looks more studious.
These two panoramas were taken in the summer of 2006 (above) and on New Year’s Day 2007, after a lot of rain. It’s hard to believe that they show the same place just six months apart.
The panorama below, (aligned slightly differently, note the line of houses), dates from 26th February, 2007, in driving rain, hence the dull colour, with even more water and less vegetation. From the West Hide we saw blue tits and long-tailed tits, and lots of Canada geese from the South Hide, as well as spoonbills and a pochard. By the East Screen we were amazed to swarms of little flies already. We are sadly too inexperienced to have been able to identify the many unseen birds we could hear. Help always wanted!
If anyone is ever able to give us a lift to the reserve from Teddington we’d be most grateful. I’m very good at the combination locks! Contact us here. We had a terrible bus journey yesterday, as well as getting thoroughly (hail) drenched on the way home.
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
[Homepage] [What we've been up to] [About Me & Al] [Contact Us] [About Alice] [Over Surtees Club] [Geocaching] [Employment] [Kempton Nature Reserve] [Comment] [South West Trains] [A Scary Thought] [Martin in the Media] [Teddington] [Pictures] [Puzzles] [Puzzles Too] [Music] [Misc] [My Films] [Links] [Credits etc] [Test Page] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|