A greylag family with their two goslings

It was such a lovely sunny day that I changed my work plans and bunked off to Frampton on Severn. I headed straight down its extremely long village green, past the old cruck framed cottages, the larger farm houses and beyond the church to Splatt Bridge. I parked and walked across the bridge over the Gloucester to Sharpness canal and then walked along the towpath to look for birdlife. Beyond the canal are extensive meadows and ponds bordering the River Severn just to the north of the Slimbridge Wildlife and Wetland Trust’s outer grounds.

It was nearly midday and the whole area was quiet. I spotted a bird in the undergrowth which I realised after a few minutes was probably a fieldfare, quite similar but slightly bigger than a thrush. I spoke to three jovial fishermen from Dursley who were spaced about ten yards apart for the day. A couple of narrowboat owners were doing maintenance on their homes. Skylarks flying high up above the meadows sang sweetly. Swans on the canal were showing aggressive displays to each other between bouts of short flights as they chased each other.

As there were so few birds I decided to go back through the village to the grounds of the manor house, Frampton Court, and walk through the parkland to the lake where I knew birds would be relatively abundant. The meadow between the house and the lake had many geese honking loudly at each other and occasionally taking flight to head onto the water. From the shoreline I watched gulls and terns swooping and bobbing about on the water, amongst coots and moorhens. I was really pleased when I spotted a flock of  swifts high above me, the first I’d seen this year.

I decided to head back to the village green where I’d parked and as I turned to leave the shore.I spotted this little family of greylag geese with the two goslings. They are the first offspring I’ve seen at the lake, which seems late this year. The parents were keeping an eye on me but weren’t at all disturbed to have me close by. The goslings soon became tired of eating grass just beside the lake and sat down to have a sleep. The parents joined them but it wasn’t long before they all got up to  start exploring again. It was a lovely end to my visit.

It seems like it is an anniversary, but it doesn't mean much as I've now.missed so many days. I'm always surprised to find myself still blipping more than ten years since I began.