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Views of the Park

Glenys McBride writes

Those of us who walk through the valley on a regular basis, whether dog walking or going to school, have an excellent opportunity to view the valley through its daily and seasonal changes. Sometimes though, familiarity can breed contempt and we forget to look around at what is there.

First the colours. On wet and windy days, when everything seems dull, grey and miserable, I force myself to raise my eyes and take in the view across the pond towards the steps. The twigs and catkins of the birch and alder trees create a deep purple haze, which is a superb foil for the pale buff of the dead reed stems, the soft primrose yellow of the hazel catkins and the stark white of the birch trunks. On the rare occasions when the sun shines, the young growth of the different willows glows in shades of yellow red and orange. Then of course there is the fresh green of the new growth of ground cover plants, with the occasional sparkle of acid yellow celandine flowers.

Second, looking for the first signs of spring. Watching the hazel catkins open to their full blown lambs tails and looking on the twigs around them for the red whiskers of the female flowers peeping out of the top of the buds. By the middle of January the first brave celandine flowers have appeared and as we move into February, the silver grey pussy willow catkins are beginning to peep out. One or two of the hawthorn bushes have buds that have burst to reveal the tips of the first young leaves.

Third, and perhaps most important, it is the easiest time of year to see the birds. With the tree branches still bare of leaves and the birds almost in their 'Sunday best' colours, the bird song carries loud and clear across the valley, almost drowning out the traffic noise. I always take this chance to identify the birds by their songs but of course by next year I have forgotten, so I get to do the whole thing again.

And joy of joys, the water rail ! I have been hoping to catch a glimpse of this elusive bird in the valley since we moved here nearly five years ago. Now since my first sighting in the scrape at the end of last year, I can't seem to avoid it. The secong time I was alerted by a dreadful noise in the marsh area. It is supposed to sound like a squealing piglet but I thought of it as a manic moorhen with a megaphone!

The last sighting I had, the rail was in the scrape for over 40 minutes and allowed me time to go home for my camera. Unfortunately the photos are a little out of focus but they give an impression of what to look for.

Watching for the water rail last week gave me another of my first sightings for the valley. A treecreeper was spiralling up and down the crack willow trunk in the front of the scrape. I haven't seen the heron for a while though. Perhaps the squirrel gave it a bad dose of indigestion (see story).

Finally I have to mention the withy horse which always makes me smile!

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