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.

Saturday 12th January (The Year So Far)

The story so far is one of frustration with a new smart phone and a use of technology that has failed, through the result of the user, rather than the systems themselves.

In short Mr. Kite has visited the usual place in and around Shrewsbury including Venus Pool, Polemere and Monkmoor Lagoon looking at the birds. Lots of birds were on view and some of these were starting to show signs of courtship, amourness and plain reproductive behaviour. Certainly the most frisky were the ducks.

With snowdrops popping through the brown wet soil and catkins dangling from the branches Mr. Kite watched the year progress whilst adding carrion crow, black-headed gull, grey heron, whooper swan, northern shoveler, coal tit, little grebe, cormorant, bullfinch, raven, reed bunting and meadow pipit.

On this Saturday Mr. Kite sat in the garden for a short time listening to the bird songs of early January. Wood pigeons, feral pigeons, robins and blackbirds could be heard.

Thursday 3rd January (A Gentle Cycle on a Pleasant Day)

After completing a few chores Mr. Kite saddled The Bike and set off towards Polemere cycling through a wet Quarry along a flooded river and down roads with ditches each side full of flowing water. There would not be a water shortage this year and judging by the volume of the liquid around; the water companies will be paying us to take it away.

Soon Mr. Kite was once again at Polemere fo find an obliging green-winged teal sitting on the side of the mere showing two vertical white bars. There is nothing like stripes to show status. Having located the 'special one' Mr. Kite looked at the moorhens in fine winter plumage.

With the hide beginning to bulge with twitchers Mr. Kite made a move and cycled towards the town searching the fields for ground-feeding birds. Large flocks of fieldfare and redwings moved across the wet ground feeding voraciusly. In the hedgerow a pair of mistle thushes watched. The wet sodden fields must have produced a bumper crop of slugs and worms for this years ground-feeding birds.

After stopping near a flooded brook at Condover to watch a greater-spotted woodpecker Mr. Kite moved onto Venus Pool to see pochard, a pink-footed goose and a sparrowhawk.

So another mild January day finished with the list slowly creeping along.

Wednesday 2nd January (A Tick in the Book)

This morning Mr. Kite had some things to do before he could enjoy a cycle ride and a spot of bird-watching. In fact Mr. Kite had to find the number on an alarm module to shut the thing up. The magic number is 41133.

Anyway with the magic number safely stored Mr. Kite set out to Polemere to find a red-crested pochard. Now this was not a little bit of twitching but a destination that Mr. Kite often reaches for the peace and tranquility of a pleasant little hide.

So in the early afternoon Mr. Kite arrived at Polemere where a few bird-watchers were watching birds. Expecting to be told where the red-crested pochard was Mr. Kite was informed that it had been replaced with a green-winged teal; what a green-winged teal.

Some people are very kind and a kind person called Geoff focused his scope on the duck in question and said, "Have a ganders at that." Mr. Kite looked into the scope to see a fabulous teal with a vertical white stripe on its front; a green-winged teal. Some ticks in the book are as easy as that.

Now in this age of modern technology it was not long before all the birders from all over the place started to arrive. Soon the place was filled with twitchers sitting there 'like ducks to water'. At this point Mr. Kite headed home via the country lanes looking for more birds. Lots of jackdaws, rooks and wood pigeons were spotted.

Another good day in Shropshire.

Tuesday 1st January (Let the New Year Begin)

In the dark early hours of that January morning Mr. Kite was awake and looking forward to a day of cycling and watching birds. Outside in the street the silence was only broken by an occasional car that travelled down the road. Not a bird sang, not a leaf stirred. Mr. Kite was listening and waiting and putting on the kettle.

This was unusual for New Year's Day because Mr. Kite did not have a hangover. Having only had a little brandy at midnight Mr. Kite was quite together and clear-headed. So just after dawn Mr. KIte stood in the garden looking at more than half of a moon as a flock of birds flew in front of it.

The only sounds were pigeons. Then a lone wood pigeon flew and fluttered and landed in the pear tree in the next garden. The first tick of the year. Looking onto the house roof Mr. Kite noticed that a black and white feral pigeon that likes the chimney was gazing at Mr. Kite.

So Mr. Kite made a cup of coffee and filled a flask before saddling The Bike and setting off to watch birds, identify birds and enjoy himself. Riding towards the Castle Walk Mr. Kite spotted starlings and blackbirds. Mr. Kite had cycled to the river to see the floods. From the bridge Mr. Kite watched blue tits and long-tailed tits feed in a tree.

On the way Mr. Kite took a detour to Springfield Mere. Here there were mallard, a mute swan, a goosander. 

Mr. Kite then decided to go to Venus Pool because of the swollen river and some flooded roads. On the way he spotted a magpie, dunnock, wren, jackdaw, collared dove, and in the sky about ten lesser-black-backed gulls flew over.

Reaching the country lanes Mr. Kite slowed down to scour the fileds that were sodden and ousing water. The gutters were a torrent of water racing towards culverts and drains. Often the flooded fields attract waders but toady none could be see. However two common buzzards sat in a muddy field picking at the sloppy surface. In the hedgerows Mr. Kite noticed chaffinch and great tits.

At Eaton Mascott Mr. Kite watched common pheasant, goldfinch, yellowhammer, house sparrow. Soon Mr. Kite was at V.P. where many bird-watchers were starting their year list. With nearly as many bird-watchers as birds Mr. Kite spotted coot, greylag goose, lapwing, teal, wigeon, gadwall, tufted duck and 40 common snipe.

On the reserve Mr. Kite ticked off robin, marsh tit, rook, great crested grebe and linnet.

Normally Mr. Kite would have cycled from Venus Pool to Attingham Park for a look into the bare trees for woodland birds but this year the plan had to be changed. Last year ended with the patter of rain and began with the sound of running water. So when Mr. Kite ignored radio warning of a road closure between Cross Houses and Atcham due to the flooding of the River Severn he got his new sandels and new socks wet before abandoning the plan and forgetting about Attingham Park until another day.

On the New Year's Day as usual Mr. Kite went to Monkmoor Lagoon for the last part of the day as the air cooled and the day turned to dusk. When he got there the pool was bare except a flying pied wagtail, a kestrel and six stock doves sitting on a pole.

At about 1630 the daylight faded, the owls were silent and Mr. Kite celebrated the start of a new year with an Old Speckled Hen. Cheers.

Monday 31st December (Back to Life)

The year of 2012 is drawing to a close. The sky is darkening, the light is fading and Mr. Kite is preparing himself for 2013 and another year of cycling and bird-watching amongst other things.

Today Mr. Kite cleaned his bicycle, checked his saddle-bags and put the finishing touches to his diary and planner. Tomorrow is the start of a New Year and new adventures. There will be birds to identify, roads to cycle down and a world full of nature. Mr. Kite will be there writing and recording his sightings and his thoughts.

So now that it is dark outside and the birds have gone home to roost Mr. Kite will draw the curtains and shut the outside world out until 'the new dawn'.

Monday 15th October (Fifteen Minutes in a Garden of Peace)

At one thirty in the afternoon Mr. Kite and His Lady sat in a garden of rest waiting for a funeral cortege to arrive.

For fifteen minutes Mr. Kite thought and watched the birds in the garden. Jays, jackdaws, carrion crows and magpies were making the most of a sunny peaceful garden.

Later in the afternoon Mr. Kite enjoyed a pint of Shropshire Lad. Cheers.