Monday 21 September 2009

Weekend stroll - Stoke Lake (Part 1)

The past week or so has been very topsy turvy at work so on Saturday we decided to take a stroll at Stoke Lake. We headed for the River Wey which was fairly busy with barges moving up and down plus canoeists and other walkers.
Very little wildlife on the water except lots and lots of Water Boatmen.
We scanned the wet pastures (now extremely dry) on the opposite side of the river but the only signs of life were a group of horses including this youngster closely chaperoned by a parent.
A few moments later a 'pterodactyl' flypast from the local Cormorants.
We followed the short boardwalk through a small area of damp woodland with the twittering calls of Blue Tits in the overhead canopy, a single Chiffchaff calling plus the warning sounds from a Wren. We then entered an open grassy area only to be surprised to find a group of cows quietly grazing. This youngster gave us a quick look before continuing to munch away at the grass.


Leaving the cows behind we headed to the lake. As you can see, not a lot of apparent activity. The 'tern' raft now abandoned by the Common Terns that visit each year is now seriously overgrown with weeds.
The only obvious inhabitants were Coot and Moorhens. For the next half an hour or so I watched Dragonflies and Darters urgently flitting back and forth along the reed fringed waters edge but never settling anywhere for a portrait photo! Part 2 will follow soon and include some of the other water users. FAB

10 comments:

  1. It's nice to take notice of all the wildlife or animal life..even if it isn't what you started out looking for. I originally started the blog for the Painted Buntings that spend the winter in my yard...now I'm seeing dragonflies and butterflies and wasp etc.

    www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com

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  2. I love the tour and I'm looking forward to Part II.

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  3. It's good to just get away from it all like this at times Frank. A leisurely stroll like that is a great boost.
    I like the description of the flying Cormorants; very appropiate.

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  4. HI Frank,
    I feel that you have the same problem as I do... Live is slowly migrating elsewhere. I have not been out so often these days due to a bad weather but when I did, I almost saw nothing! Sad to realize that autumn is there and all species are migrating back to their wintering region!

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  5. Great views Frank,what a fantastic
    walk.Lovely images to.
    John.

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  6. Morning Frank.

    Your post was filled with a wonderful vartiety of animals today and beautiful scenic shots. Nice...I'm sitting here sipping my morning coffee and enjoying my read. I love the cows especially the head shot. Nice :)

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  7. That lake looks like it will be stocked full of ducks next month.

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  8. Carol. I agree, it's interesting how our 'field of view' expands. More so for me since I've been using a digital camera.

    Steve B. Thanks, part 2 coming very soon.

    Keith. Anything to get away from the 'chores'!

    Hi Chris. I fear that your loss may be our gain over the coming months. I hope you can stay positive thro' the winter.

    JRandSue. Cheers John.

    Hi Crista. I'm glad to hear you can find time to put your feet up. Well I couldn't pass a close up of such a delightful animal..could I?

    Warren. I'm definitely looking forward to checking out all the new comers over the coming months.

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  9. Lol, I think I am a lot like you...when there are no birds to photograph I find butterflies, and if no butterflies I go to the animals or whatever is moving! Even if you didn't encounter that ahhh bird you still had a nice walk!

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  10. Hi Tina. As you know my mantra is 'all wildlife is precious, so enjoy every moment'. Chasing 'target' birds rarely pays off these days so I just enjoy whatever I see. Cheers FAB.

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I hope you enjoyed your visit and I always appreciate your comments and feedback.

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