Looking up in Lockdown

A year ago today the UK went into its first Lockdown. We were told to #stayathome #protecttheNHS #savelives. None of us could have imagined then the impact Covid-19 would have, and is still having, on our lives.

It is a sombre day when we mourn and remember the people who have lost their lives to the virus and give thanks for those who have worked so tirelessly to keep the rest of us safe.

For me, it has also been an opportunity to reflect on the positives of a year close to home, of looking up during Lockdown and discovering what has been in walking distance of my front door.

First local walk in Lockdown 1.0
24 March 2020: the first of many strolls along the Basingstoke canal with my new walking companion Meg

Within a 5-mile radius of my house, I discovered grassy footpaths …

Footpath at end of wood

woods filled with foxgloves …

Woodland foxgloves

and tranquil ponds.

Tranquil pond

As the year progressed, I marvelled at the change in the agricultural landscape.

Field of ploughed soil
Field of oilseed rape
Field of poppies
Field of barley

I looked up into the trees.

Horse chestnut blooms
Horse chestnut conkers

And down at the ground.

Fungi

I became so much more aware of the changing seasons (my walking boots have never seen so much mud!) and, of course, the local wildlife.

Female sparrowhawk

And, as I have actually spent time relaxing in my garden, looking and listening (not just gardening), I have got to know it better too. I have delved into the detail of my plants …

Inside tulips

found what works for pollinators …

Plants for pollinators

and tried growing different vegetables …

Acorn squash

It has not been an easy year, but I am thankful for the time it has given me to appreciate what has always been right in front of me waiting to be discovered, and I am the better for it.

Barn owl encounter

Down at Selsey, we made the most of the bracing sea air and local fish and chips, as well as the neighbouring nature reserves:

Pagham Harbour nature reserve

Evening stillness at Pagham harbour nature reserve

Evening stillness at Pagham harbour nature reserve

From the car park at Church Norton, we took a late-afternoon stroll around the edge of Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve, a peaceful sheltered inlet where all the usual suspects – namely red shank (Tringa totanus), curlew (Numenius arquata), oyster catcher (Haematopus ostralegus), black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) and little egret (Egretta garzetta) – were wading on the mudflats.

Teals-Pagham-harbour

Teal, dabbling in the early evening sun

There were plenty of teal (Anas crecca) and wigeon (Anas penelope) doing what dabbling ducks do, i.e. dabble, and in the distance we could see a great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) disappearing from the water surface for lengthy periods of time as it dived for its supper.

Seated on  a bench at the edge of the wetland, we were thoroughly absorbed with our ‘twitching’ and we were soon chilled to the bone as the sun started to go down. Getting up with the aim of a brisk walk to warm up, we weren’t prepared for our next encounter –a magnificent barn owl (Tyto alba).

Barn owl encounter

Barn owl, Pagham harbour nature reserve

Barn owl

Okay, so this turned out to be a bit of a cheat, as this 14-month-old female barn owl was being flown from the arm of an elderly gentleman. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about barn owls being kept as pets. This one had been raised in captivity from a very young age, and she never took her eyes off her handler. But there is no doubt that it was a wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal with a breathtakingly beautiful creature and really appreciate the intricacies of her plumage – snowy white heart-shaped face that almost glowed in the dusk, and golden plumage with black and white speckles.

She’d already been flying around the harbour in the early evening sunshine, so by the time we met her she seemed extremely content to sit on a fence post and watch us watching her – surely one of Britain’s most charismatic birds.

Captive barn owl

Captive barn owl

Medmerry nature reserve

We also walked along the sea front to Medmerry, a huge new coastal reserve between Selsey and Bracklesham, which has been created as a result of the largest managed realignment of the coast anywhere in Britain. The Environment Agency has built new coastal flood defences inland in order to protect homes in Selsey from rising sea levels, and has allowed the existing shingle beach to be breached by the sea, forming a new wetland area – 183 hectares of mudflats, tidal lagoons and saltmarsh.

Medmerry after flooding

Medmerry after flooding

The site is still in its settling stages and it isn’t teeming with bird life as yet, but we did enjoy seeing flocks of meadow pipits and yellow hammers in the scrubland next to the path, and in the distance we could see huge flocks of lapwing landing on the mudflats, along with a few cormorants and egrets.

 

 

Fleet Pond

Fleet Pond, Hampshire

This gallery contains 14 photos.

Last Sunday dawned crisp and sunny, so we decided to take a walk around Fleet Pond. I guess, because of its name, I’ve always envisaged this local green space to be a large ‘pond’ covered in duck weed, bordered by a few weeping willows and home to numerous bread-scavenging mallards.  How wrong could I be! Fleet Pond is actually Hampshire’s largest…

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