A Thank You

11^th Aug.  Today was the day of the RSPB Presentation and Walk at the Rising Sun Country Park.  To be honest attendance was disappointing with total of sixteen participants.  However those who were there seemed to enjoy their time and they were treated to a great selection of images sixty-seven in total) all provided by Samuel Hood.  My thanks go to all who participated but especially to Sam for providing the images and for his excellent input into the presentation.  Sadly on this occasion Local Group members minds seemed to have be elsewhere and suggestions as to where varied from ‘on their holidays’ to ‘watching the Olympic BMX Racing’. I’m not so sure about the latter myself! :-)  The day didn’t begin to well when we found that North Tyneside Council had hired to us, equipment containing software which barred our using it!  Now can you believe that?  Sam saved the day by getting his dad to whizz him home and collect a laptop.  Full marks to Sam and minus 10 to the council!  I was assured by a member of staff that we won’t be charged.  They can count on it that we won’t be paying!

Sam and I enjoyed the day and I gained the impression others did too.  The walk that followed the talk didn’t bring us too much in the way of birds, but by now the sun was out and the views from the old pit heap were enjoyed.  Sam and I did briefly see a Tawny Owl which appeared to lift from the ground with prey.  This was early afternoon.  Unfortunately no one else saw it!  There were some interesting grebes about to keep people focused and after a cuppa at the café, when everyone else had gone Sam, Mark and I watched a Sparrowhawk flying over Swallow Pond.  I was really surprised to see so few hirundines about today with maybe only a handful of Swallows seen.  There was a number of Common Terns and Lesser Black-backed Gulls around Swallow Pond area.

I was handed a poem that one of the participants had written over a cup of coffee and I have included it below.  I’m sure he won’t sue me over copyright! :-)

We came out to the Rising Sun with the RSPB

But there was not an awful lot of birdy things to see.

Sam and Brian saw a bird, I don’t think was a phoney

They said it was an owl they knew, and that its name was Tawny

But we did see another bird worth going all that way

But what exactly that bird was, I’m not supposed to say.

ANON

Thanks to all who  supported the day.

No photography for me during the day as I was too busy.  However I include some of my continuing practice images of Common Terns over Killy Lake.