Its a strange thing about birdwatching that often the best nature reserves for photography are not necessarily the best place to watch birds. What am I talking about you may ask? Well Lackford lakes, although enjoyable enough doesn't attract a lot of birds, whilst at Minsmere, a treasure trove of the avian kind, I end up taking the same shot each time, usually of an avocet, teal or gull. And so the same goes for Pensthorpe. As a nature reserve it doesn't compare to the big beasts of North Norfolk like Cley or Titchwell, but it offers a much better opportunity for photography. And that adds another dimensions to birdwatching, a creative one, capturing the visual splendor of birds in a different way.
MUTE SWAN on the river Wensum
Don't get me wrong a day out at Pensthorpe is very enjoyable. The site is a strange combination of zoo, gardens, playground and nature reserve. The reserve itself is a series of flooded gravel pits, amongst a background of woodland and grassland, set around the chalk stream of the river Wensum. At this time of year, August, these habitats were fairly quiet.
GREY HERON stalking the WENSUM Wetlands
The usual wildfowl of gravel pits GADWALL, COOT and TUFTED DUCK were scattered around the various lakes. One of the more interesting bodies of water was the Wader Scrape, although with water levels being too high there was no mud exposed to attract that type of bird. Instead, in addition to the usual wildfowl there were a few SHOVELLER around, among the hundreds of GEESE. Also present were some TEAL on the mud around Wensum Wetland, another lake tucked into the bottom corner of Pensthorpe.
NE-NE, or HAWAIIAN GOOSE, part of the captive population
There were a few further sightings of interest around the reserve. On Markin's Mere, a KINGFISHER was seen in flight across the water, before perching, distantly on a branch. Around the edges of Wensum Wetland, a GREEN SANDPIPER was feeding on the mud, whilst a GREY HERON stalked the shallow waters behind.
Newly ringed BLUE TIT
Behind the Wader Scrape there was a bird ringing demonstration going on. I arrived a little late and only arrived at the end, but I still got to see a few birds. Apparently its been a poor year, well I can attest to that, but 80 birds were ringed today, a number that beats the rest of the year's entire total.
Deer sculpture in one of the gardens
On various lakes and pens around the site there is a large collection of captive wildfowl. Being August and with all the males in eclipse, the ducks weren't as attractive as they could be. When they are in eclipse the males moult out of their breeding season finery and at this time of year resemble the drab, brown females.
BARNACLE GOOSE, one of the many, half-wild birds that feed on the duck food fed to the captive birds
Around the captive wildfowl there was a murky gang of half-wild half-escapee EGYPTIAN GEESE and BARNACLE GEESE. They were present in large numbers and thrived because they fed off the grain that children were giving to the captive wildfowl.
BLACK WINGED STILT in the Wader Aviary
Probably the best collection at Pensthorpe is the Wader Aviary. This is a walkthrough pen where native birds are kept. In here there are waders of course, AVOCETS, STILTS, GODWITS and RUFFS, but also some unusual birds such as BEARDED TITS, CORNCRAKES and TURTLE DOVES birds that are not often kept in captivity. Its a great way to get close to species that would be challenging in the wild and allows for some decent photography.
EURASIAN CRANE
Another good part of Pemsthorpe is the collection of CRANES. EURASIAN CRANES (our cranes), CROWNED CRANES and MANCHURIAN CRANES, were kept in pens, where public viewing was from a hide, with each of the openings looking over a different species. The Manchurian cranes had two fully grown juveniles with them, so they have bred this year. Maybe captive breeding may work, as a lot of zoos say, with the captive animals eventually adding to native populations of rarer birds. I'm not overly sure, to me zoos seem more like sensible circuses, the animals living in their own filth, being gawked at by the public .
Part of the Millennium Gardens
Aside from the nature reserve there are the gardens, most especially the Millennium Gardens. People with an interest in gardens get all serious when I mention them. Created by Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf, at the turn of the millennium, they remain one of the best examples of his work. I don't know much about gardening but they were very attractive at this time of year, with lots of flowers in bloom.
GREAT TIT
I started the post stating Pensthorpe wasn't great for birds, yet finish the post entirely stating the opposite. Sometimes seeing rare birds and large spectaculars isn't everything in the birding world. You can go to places like Pensthorpe and still get the full wildlife experience, and leave as satisfied as any visit to one of the North Norfolk big reserves. I thoroughly recommend a visit and it is handy that it offers something of interest for pretty much everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment