Blashford Lakes
We regularly visit Blashford Lakes and each time there is something new to see. It is particularly useful on a cold wet winter’s day, such as the day of our visit, because you can spend most of the time in the shelter of the bird hides and choose the time between showers to move to another hide.
The first hide that we visited was the woodland hide which is used as a location for feeding the small woodland birds or passerines. Although it is best to feed birds throughout the year now is a particularly important time because of the hard winter and lack of natural food supplies. The birds certainly seem to appreciate it as there were hundreds of small birds and one or two small animals visiting the feeding station at the time we were there.
There were at least two small bank voles dashing out when the birds were away and a rather fat grey squirrel that knew it was on to a good thing hanging round the feeders.
It might seem illogical going all that way when you can watch the birds feeding in your own garden but it is in a woodland setting. The variety of birds and the sheer numbers make it well worthwhile. For instance Siskins, Redpolls and Bramblings are not often seen in an urban garden. Redpolls are a small finch brownish in colour with black streaks. The head as its name suggests is red and it has a black bib; the males have a reddish chest during the breeding season. The Siskin is also a small finch but is greenish yellow with black streaks; the male has a black head. The subspecies of Redpoll have been divided into separate species recently so that the ones we saw are now called Lesser Redpoll. The larger and paler Mealy Redpoll or Common Redpoll may be found on the east coast of Britain in winter but the Arctic Redpoll as its name suggests remains further north. There was a single Long Tailed Tit which is rather unusual as they normally flock together. It was also noticed that there were no Goldfinch at the woodland feeders whereas in urban gardens they are quite common.
You could spend the whole of your visit watching the comings and goings at the woodland hide but eventually we moved, between showers, to another hide overlooking one of the lagoons with dead reeds in shallow water to the front of the hide. As it was near lunchtime we decided to eat our sandwiches in this hide.
Imagine you are a large Pike in a lagoon at Blashford Lakes; master of all you survey; ruler of all the little fishes. As it is a Sunday you are resting in the dead reeds when you feel a slight disturbance in the water so decide to move out of the reeds. Suddenly you feel a sharp pain just behind your left gills and instinctively spring into action trying to move as far away as possible but you are unable to move. You feel yourself slowly dragged just below the surface in such a way that no water flows through your gills and you cannot breathe. After a few minutes when you become weak you feel yourself flung upwards and your last feeling is one of disappearing down a black cavern.
We have finished our sandwiches and started on the apple. The Pike did not know what hit it but we did since we had been watching from our seat in the hide. We saw a Cormorant land on the water, splash through the reeds, and spear a Pike with its bill as it emerged into clear water. The Pike was at least as long as the body of the Cormorant which although normally swimming low in the water had its whole body submerged with the weight of the Pike, only its neck being above water. After a few minutes the Cormorant flung the Pike upwards, stretched its neck, and swallowed the Pike whole. The Cormorant must have struggled to walk on land never mind fly in the air.
After lunch we crossed over the road to Ibsley Water and looked over the water from two of the hides. Ibsley water is a large expanse of water and requires powerful optics to see to the far side. Pairs of Goldeneye however swim over the water diving for food and surfacing a long way from where they started, sometimes quite close to the hide. There seem to be more of these birds this year. Goosanders which were seen on a gravel promontory, appropriately enough from the Goosander hide, are also increasing in number.
We look forward to further visits, hopefully in better weather.