We are now slowly beginning to emerge from 'Lockdown', we can apparently travel anywhere in England and exercise as many time as we like, although we are obliged to return to our homes every night. I'll personally be staying local for the foreseeable, with perhaps the odd day trip further afield if I feel it's safe to do so. From a purely personal and birding perspective, I've no room for complaint. My heart goes out to the 1000s of people who have been so badly affected by these difficult and unprecedented times, in particular to those who have lost loved ones.
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| One of the many glorious sunsets from the marina moorings during 'Lockdown'. |
For me, I'm lucky enough to be living on a marina with my brilliant wife Dazza where we are fortunate to be surrounded by nature. Here there's a large and varied habitat to explore and plenty of skies to watch. Directly opposite the canal is Napton Reservoir another large body of water with a good-sized reedbed and somewhere I visited almost every morning for my daily exercise until the fishermen returned on Wednesday! When I walked I rarely saw a person and social distancing is something that I certainly don't struggle with.
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| Napton Reservoir ~ Directly opposite our moorings. |
What follows is a pictorial of the wildlife and surroundings I've managed to photograph during these difficult times. My daily reports can be found in the main body of this blog.
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 1
☀️16C ~ Wind ⇐ SE@7mph Tuesday 24th March 2020
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| Sunset from the moorings ~ I can think of worse places to be 'locked down'. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 2
☀️14C ~ Wind ↑SE@8mph Wednesday 25th March 2020
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| Great Crested Grebe ~ Several of these charismatic birds nest at the Reservoir & can be seen daily. |
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| A Peacock Butterfly warming on a rock in the warm sunshine at the Reservoir. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 3
☀️14C ~ Wind ←E@9mph Thursday 26th March 2020
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| Red Kite ~ Almost a daily sight drifting over the Marina & Reservoir during the lockdown. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 8
⛅️9C ~ Wind ←NE@10mph Tuesday 31st March 2020
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| This Cormorant is enjoying the calm of the reservoir now that the fishermen have temporarily departed. |
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| Kestrel |
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| A wonderful close encounter with this local Kestrel who I'm sure I see daily. |
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| Another Buzzard takes to the skies over the marina. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 11
☀️☁️12C ~ Wind →W@9mph Friday 3rd April 2020
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| Another beautiful sunset at the mooring. |
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| A Chiffchaff collecting nesting materials at the Reservoir. |
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| Another Red Kite drifts over the Marina moorings. |
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| Singing Coal Tit ~ A 'Lockdown List' tick at Calcutt locks while passing. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 14☀️17C ~ Wind ↘SSE@7mph Tuesday 7th April 2020
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Common Sandpiper ~ A year first during my walk around the Reservoir on day 14. |
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| An oddly coloured Buzzard certainly got the pulse racing as it drifted in from distance. |
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| A Peregrine high over the Marina while sky-watching. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 16
☀️⛅️21C ~ Wind ↗NE@4mph Wednesday 8th April 2020
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| A Chiffchaff ~ Now well established around the Marina grounds. |
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| Marsh Harrier ~ I was lucky enough to capture this rare passage on camera. |
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| A Marsh Harrier passes at height over the Reservoir towards Napton Hill. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 17
☀️⛅️21C ~ Wind ←E@8mph Thursday 9th April 2020
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| A recently arrived Willow Warbler at the Reservoir. |
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| A Yellowhammer poses briefly during my morning walk. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 18
⛅️10C to start then ☀️22C ~ Wind ↖SE@9mph Friday 10th April 2020
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| A Swallow, still few & far between at this stage but arriving now in small numbers. |
🔒 MY LOCKDOWN DAY 19
⛅️11C to start then ☀️23C ~ Wind ↖SE@1mph Saturday 11th April 2020
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| Tree Pipit ~ A regular passage species at the Reservoir. |
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| Tree Pipit ~ Third year in a row I've recorded this species at the Reservoir. |
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| Stormy weather & angry skies over the marina on Day 39 |
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| After hitting a wall on 95 species ten days ago the stalemate was thankfully broken today when this Hobby appeared over the Marina. |
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| This pristine-looking Hobby was my 96th species for my 'Lockdown List'. |
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| Great views of Hobby over the marina on Day 39! |
🔒MY LOCKDOWN DAY 44
☀️5C to start then ☀️20C ~ Wind ↗SE@7mph Wednesday 6th May 2020
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| A Tufted Duck flies in during the many sky-watching sessions on the pontoon |
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| Spindle Ermine Moth Caterpillars at the marina. |
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MY LOCKDOWN DAY 45
🔒MY LOCKDOWN DAY 46
☀️5C to start then ☀️20C ~ Wind ↗SE@7mph Friday 8th May 2020
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| A local cycle ride with Dazza on VE Day produced my 'Lockdown List' species No. 99 ~ This lovely Whinchat! |
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| Great view of the Whinchat as he posed for a photo opportunity! |
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| WHEATEAR!!! ~ MY 100TH 'LOCKDOWN LIST' SPECIES ~ found by my brilliant wife Dazza. |
Over the period of Lockdown, I think I've scoured every field and checked every post I've come across in the hope of finding a
Wheatear or
Whinchat, two species high up on my agenda. It was therefore quite remarkable that I'd see both birds within a very short distance of each other and just a few miles from the marina while actually out on a cycle ride. Thank goodness I have the good sense to carry my binoculars and my ever faithful Canon SX50 bridge camera when I'm out cycling.
It's ironic really that as Lockdown eases and I now begin to concentrate on boat maintenance and other priorities I should be lucky enough to achieve my goal of 100 'Lockdown' bird species. I can't lie to my reader, Lockdown for me thankfully has been a wonderful & enjoyable experience and I repeat from a purely personal perspective!
