Skip to main content

Midwinter

A hard frost last night and the reeds along the river path are thick with rime. The rich brown colours of a Wren and a few Reed Buntings stand out against the whiteness.

But many birds seem to merge into this pale landscape, and sometimes in the strained light of this midwinter morning a bird’s plumage can look startlingly unfamiliar. Like the spectral grey of a Herring Gull’s back that today appears silver as it flies along the river. So unfamiliar that for an instant it seems as though an ancient sword has erupted from the water, reversing the committal that formed part of a long-forgotten ritual.

Walking the path I wonder whether people made such votive offerings to the Arun in the millennia before it was scoured and canalised for navigation and industry. It seems probable, especially at the shallower points where the river could be forded. Crossing the fast-flowing stream would always require caution and respect. A sacrifice wouldn’t go amiss.

Or maybe offerings were made at the river’s deeper stretches, such as that between South Stoke and Offham where the channel is said to be twenty feet deep even at low tide. After all, crossings are not always made between one side of the river and the other.

Either way this was a bird, not an artefact. One of the Herring Gulls that feed in the water meadows and fields, the pale grey of their backs distinct from the whiteness of the nearby egrets and swans. Those include as well as the usual Little Egrets a scarce Cattle Egret near Lyminster, while there are ten Bewick’s Swans near Burpham as well as the usual Mute Swans. There are many shades of paleness in this bleached landscape.

This piece is also posted on Arun Wild

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Arun Valley: 17-23 Oct

B irds recorded during walks at various locations in the valley this week. 23 Oct (14.40-17.40) - Arundel Park: 1 Red Kite, 50 Chaffinches, 150 Goldfinches, 20 Linnets, 3 Yellowhammers, 7 Reed Bunting. 23 Oct (08.00-10.00) – Arun South: 1 Red Kite, 2 Peregrines, 6 Reed Buntings, 3 Yellowhammers, 12 Song Thrushes, 1 Stonechat. 22 Oct (08.15-09.45) – Arun East, Millstream, Mill Road: 1 Little Grebe, 4 Meadow Pipits. 21 Oct (14.00-17.30) - Arundel Park: 3 Hawfinches, 35 Chaffinches, 3 Firecrests, 1 Marsh Tit, 16 Yellowhammers, 1 Reed Bunting. 21 Oct (08.00-10.00) – Arun South: 2 Coal Tits, 16 Reed Buntings, 6 Yellowhammers, 15 Song Thrushes, 4 Stonechats, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine. 20 Oct (17.15-18.30) – Millstream and adjacent river: 4+ Marsh Harriers (roost), 4 Tawny Owls, 20+ Pied Wagtails (roost). 20 Oct (08.00-09.30) – Arun South: 1+ Ring Ouzel, 14 Blackbirds, 10 Song Thrushes, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Peregrine. 19 Oct (1010-12.40) – Arun from For...

Arun Valley 22-28 Dec

Selected birds recorded on walks in the valley this week. 28 Dec (10.50-12.30) – Arun South: 3 Egyptian Geese, 1 Marsh Harrier, 11 Grey Partridge, 1 Snipe, 210+ Lapwing, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Stonechat, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Bullfinch, 2 Yellowhammer. 27 Dec (13.40-16.40) – Water Wood, Screen Wood, Sherwood Rough: 3 Marsh Tit, 2 Coal Tit, 6 Goldcrest, 2 Nuthatch, 1 Hawfinch, 3 Siskin, 3 Bullfinch, 15 Yellowhammer, 1 Jay, 1 Kestrel, 4 Buzzard, Tawny Owl. 27 Dec (08.10-09.35) – Arun East, Millstream, Mill Road: 2 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Red Kite, 6 Reed Bunting, 1 Yellowhammer, 2 Bullfinch. 26 Dec (08.15-09.30) – Arun South: 1 Shelduck, 1 Buzzard, 280+ Lapwing, 1 Kingfisher, 4 Reed Bunting, 12 Yellowhammer. 25 Dec (08.15-09.30) – Arun East, Millstream, Mill Road: 1 Buzzard, 6 Yellowhammer, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Stonechat, 2 Bullfinch. 24 Dec (08.15-09.30) – Arun South: 2 Egyptian Geese, 1 Buzzard, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Redshank, 1 Stonechat, 16 Yellowhammer. 23 Dec (08.15-09.30) – ...

July 4: Arun South

It’s already hot in spite of the easterly breeze, and the river is sluggish after days without rain. The grass is parched yellow, even the reeds in the ditches wilting. The gull loaf is building up on the stone-lined sections of the river bank and 55 Herring Gulls and 78 Black-headed Gulls have been joined by two Great Black-backed Gulls and single Mediterranean, Common and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. All of them are inactive. Even the Great Black-backs make only occasional forays, scolded when they do so by a pair of vigilant Oystercatchers. A dozen Lapwings dot the muddy stretches of the river’s edge, standing stock still before indulging in seemingly inconsequential runs. Much more active are the seven Common Sandpipers, their numbers up from only three a few days ago, while a single Little Ringed Plover and a calling Greenshank may be harbingers of other less common passage waders in the weeks ahead. There are probably no passage passerines yet. Sedge Warblers and Reed Warbl...