Sunday 13th January (A Gentle Cycle)

Mr. Kite's new smart phone is smarter than he is but Mr. Kite is making progress and making some use of the device. Today he had planned to use the machine to map a route, record a bird song and take a picture. However the plan failed at the first obstacle but Mr. Kite did enjoy a short cycle ride and a little bit of bird-watching.

Just before noon Mr. Kite set off towards Venus Pool along the frosty lanes and close to the frozen fields. On this slow excursion Mr. Kite noticed the usual birds and heard the usual songs. The sun shone and the air was cold but those little birds did their job and kept him amused until he reached V.P.

At V.P. there were hundred of birds and a number of bird-watchers. So the first task was to observe the use of technology and ask about its' use and helpful people gave Mr. Kite some practical information.

Returning to the birds Mr. Kite was impressed by bathing greylag geese rotating in the icy water, noisy canade geese showing who was boss, squabbling coots competing for the females and a shelduck just to add to the year list. The bigger and noisier birds made their presence known but the common snipe were conspicuous because the sunlight illuminated their camouflaged plumage and they flitted between places silently before prodding their long bills into the soft mud.

Mr. Kite returned along the river through Atcham where very little was on show but at least ten goosander were on the rivers edge. Lastly Mr. Kite dropped into Monkmoor Lagoon where stock doves sat on the 'osprey pole' and a pair of mallards courted. However a spring of teal were a welcome sight on the still water as they just swam around.

With the snow approaching it was time for the short trip home as the light faded before a cold frosty winters night.