Canal to KP

I managed to head out for a bit of a walk this afternoon after a GP Surgery appointment, and I decided I'd head up to the northern stretch of Aylestone Meadows within my 5MR. One thing I realised quite a while ago is that I should have made an effort to sort out some sort of route-tracking app. on my phone that would trace my steps and calc. the distances this year during my square and 5MR walks. I remember this every time I'm out, when it's too late to bother, and I guess there's not much point starting now. Today's walk was only c2.5miles in any case.

Here's an aerial map showing the route:

The red dot is the starting point at the car park; I followed the River Soar/Grand Union Canal along the cyan dots up to the King Power stadium; retraced my steps to the green dots following the River Biam and a boardwalk pathway, then back to the car park along the yellow dots.

I had my bins and camera, and set out in what were mainly bright and sunny conditions albeit still very cold. By the time I turned my back on the KP and headed back it was clouding over, and by the time I was on the yellow dots it had just started snowing again. We've had snow flurries every day since Sunday night, albeit mainly light.

The first stretch followed the tow path along the converged River Soar/Grand Union Canal. As you'd expect from an inner-city waterway, there are more graffiti-laden buildings, bridges and locks than scenic views ....

The melt evident on this bridge may be short-lived given the forecast -5C tonight!

Before long the glorious vista that is the KP came into view opposite Freemens Meadow Lock and the weir.

Up until this point, the bird interest was limited to say the least. Nothing but the odd Mallard, Moorhen and Mute Swan along the canal, and no sniff of a dashing iridescent blue streak. But, just whilst I was fannying about between phone and camera, a Raven was briefly in view soaring over the KP, the first new 5MR bird of the day. A quick scan on the water below the weir revealed another couple of yearticks, 15 Teal and 5 Little Grebes - albeit requiring full zoom on the camera.

A fourth year tick was a bit nearer, though perhaps less photogenic in the great scheme of things ....

I was a little bemused at the antics of one of the Moorhens, which was hopping along a row of large orange buoys that act as some sort of barrier in front of the weir - a bit like that shite TV programme Ninja Warrior. It only stopped hopping when it got to what must have been a particularly appealing pile of gull shite to peck at ....

I also felt obliged to point the camera at these majestic beasts, clearly a cold-weather movement from the fields of East Anglia ....

The walk back was a little precarious in places, as the rivers had clearly flooded big sections of the meadows previously, but there is a long stretch of boardwalk that made for better walking once on it. The scenery was better on this route, but with the cloud cover increasing and snow starting to fall there was not much chance of adding anything else new.

When I got back to the car park, one of the clumps of Mistletoe (actually not that common in Leics. but there is a fair bit here) showed expected movement.

During the time I've been constructing this image-heavy post, the delivery man has brought the TG-6 I ordered on Monday. I've got plenty of time to not read the manual (I've never read any camera manual), plug it in and see what's what before I'll have a chance to poke it in front of some small invert or other.

Tonight though, fittingly given the walk today, I'll be watching LCFC (hopefully) making their way to the FA Cup quarter finals. I can't believe that it is almost a year since I last sat in my seat at the KP (Man City, 22/02/2020). I did not go to the last home game where fans were present, Aston Villa on 09/03/2020 - it was a Monday night, I'd been busy and the writing was on the wall about impending closures and lockdowns - I just didn't fancy it and watched at home. Since then I've seen more LCFC games on TV than would normally be feasible as every game home and away has been televised. Whilst I want my team to succeed, in a weird way I will be massively disappointed if we were to win the FA Cup (the only top level domestic trophy LCFC have never won) in a season when no fans can experience and enjoy the spectacle.

The canals and the bridges, the embankments and cuts

They blasted and dug with their sweat and their guts

They never drank water but whiskey by pints

And the shanty towns rang with their songs and their fights

Here Comes The Flood (again)

Today I had to drop into the GP surgery in Blaby, so I took the opportunity to grab a change of scene and have a look at a couple of former haunts within my Soar Valley South patch - and therefore well within my newly acquired 5MR area. I only intended for a short walk from parking up on a roadside, and was not equipped for anything other than tarmac .....

On this aerial view, there is a pathway that runs between the yellow and red dots - known as part of the Guthlaxton Trail. This is a shortcut to get from Blaby to the canal. Except when standing at the yellow dot and the pathway looks like this ....

Even if I'd had my boots and Sealskinz on, this path was not passable - proper wellies required. Immediately to the left is a scruffy hedgerow that offers partial views across what is often a dry grassland, sometimes a deep floodplain and very very occasionally a good place to scrutinise for Snipe and a few ducks. Here is the general view from the one dry spot I had at the start of the path ....

You can probably just about see that there appears to be lots of water visible through the barrage of twigs. It actually looks like in a couple of days time when the waters have receded a little, this could be a great spot to have a good look over. Today, I could see something through the mess of woody interruption, but getting anything useable with the camera was folly. See ....

A majestic drake Goosander ....

My initial plan was to walk through and onto the canal tow path, in the hope that Goosander would be present on the canal as I have seen before. I also had one fly over so likely to be a few around here - it's just getting somewhere to enjoy them properly that is a problem whilst we are knee-deep in river water. I nipped around to the other side and parked up; here's a view looking south-eastish from the red dot showing the River Sence over-spilling its banks ....

Just north of here is access down to the Grand Union canal path (via No.99 Whetstone Lane Bridge). I only walked a short stretch between the two cyan dots on the aerial view - mainly as the path was a bit slippy with inappropriate footwear, and because every bridge harboured a dodgy looking bloke nearby with a fishing rod, thereby rendering any hope of good Goosander views null and void.

This Grey Wagtail only gave distant views before dancing off a bit further every few steps.

Several pairs of Moorhens along the overhang on the far bank.

Before heading home, I took a very small detour and parked up at Jubilee Park - another old haunt on the patch that I should spend more time at this year. There is usually a small pool just about visible from the park, with the River Soar and River Sence converging close to it. Today the pool was huge with no sign of the rivers as such ....

I'm always wary of this area when it's flooded, and despite the view there was a bloke jogging around the shallower edge. Trouble is that you can't see where the flood starts and the River bank is. It's not that long ago that David Noakes, a local birder and nice bloke that I met a few times who was a regular at the park, sadly drowned here when the area was flooded.

Just viewable from the safety of the roadside pavement was a mass of Canada Geese, and I could hear and eventually saw a couple of Wigeon tucked in amongst them. Again, once the main waters recede there should be a better chance of getting views of what's out there.

W'happen!

Unbelievable - you go on holiday, have a cracking time in the sunshine relaxing without the kids and all, and next thing you know it's Christmas and New Year. Been absolutely nowhere, done nowt and seen even less since the end of October. I did nip over to Watermead CP on 31st after finishing work, though only briefly as it was cold and far too sunny for decent photography so just a few quick shots grabbed.

Happy New Year - perhaps I'll do, see and post a bit more in 2015 ......

Gullden Opportunity

Had to head up to Yorks on business today, and took the opportunity to nip into WCPS on the way back late afternoon. Ostensibly I was looking for CR gulls, but I was happy to stand and point the camera at the confiding naked ensemble and some common round Rallidae.

In fact the only CR gull I saw was the ever-present JAN4, which has developed a BO complex

The forecast heavy snow has scuppered part of my weekend plans, as I've had to postpone the much anticipated Pushing the Boundaries talk by Martin Garner and Tormod Amundsen at Rutland Water. I'm still heading down south to the Eurotunnel though for a quick weekend soiree in France with work colleagues - which ensures that my Foot It total will remain static.

Early Morning Watermead CP South

This post is littered with photos .....

Glorious sunshine from the off today, though it was damned cold overnight with a frost. I needed to spend some time at work, so I decided to get up and out early to enjoy some peace and sunshine before hitting the office.

I decided that a stroll around Watermead CP South would be ideal, giving the chance of a couple of City Boundary yearticks in the process. Before going there, I quickly nipped up Thurcaston Lane to check out the hedgerows and fields within the boundary. Sure enough as I'd been assured by John and Dave, I quickly picked up Yellowhammer. Two singing birds seen well, and a great early morning bonus was singing Skylarks as a backdrop. Excellent - two City yearticks in quick succession.

Immediately as I arrived at WCPS, I noted that the drake Pintail was loitering on the grassy knoll that separates the car park from the northern lake. I fired off a few shots and video.

This bird is definitely a bit screwed up - it is tagging along with a female Mallard, and I even watched it chase off a couple of drake Mallards. To cap it all, it is displaying to her with soft wheezing calls and the occasional heads-up whistle.

Whilst taking the shots and video, I was sure I could hear a Raven. Every time I looked around no sign, but listen carefully to the videos - am I going mad??!!

I could also hear my first singing Chiffchaff of the year, stridently belting out the song that sounds great at the start of each spring but soons disappears in the general backdrop of outdoor life through the summer. I saw this bird a bit later whilst walking round, but saw or heard no others.

Before I headed off to walk around, I fired off a few Mallard shots - common as anything but in good sunlight they have a certain appeal.

This one had no neck.

Green flecks in this ones crown?

The first recorded case of Avian Parkinsons?

Walking along the edge of the southern lake, there were several singing Reed Buntings but still no sight or sound of any reed-skulking warblers that may be expected - have they moved on? I got to the wier and was surprised to find a large patch of Butterbur in flower - haven't noticed these here before. No idea if they have recently colonised or even if they have been introduced - they seem to be on an area that looks to have been scraped out?

Along the river, couldn't resist a shot of this Mute Swan with the flat calm water giving a bit of relfection.

A bit further on, and this pair of Moorhens are well into their nest building ..

Plenty of Osiers in blossom (or at least I think they were Osier rather than Sallow).

I carried on around the lake, and headed down the ride that runs along the woodland. A distinct call from above me coming from alder cones brought an unexpected City yeartick - Lesser Redpoll. Only a couple and they soon flew off when I threatened to point the camera upwards. I decided to make use of the camera in any case ..

Alder cones

Blackthorn

Heading back toward the car park and I was immediately struck by the contrast. Despite the adjacent busy roadway, the southern lake seems just that bit more peaceful. The northern lake has more birds, and far more tossers. Today within the time whilst I was walking around, the waterside was overtaken by a load of arseholes in cars, with tents and with big Newfoundland dogs that were barking their heads of and anxious to get in the water. Add to that the unnaturally high population of geese and swans living on obscenely regular handouts of bread in huge portions and the whole area is a mess.

Almost serene

On the verge of mayhem

Unbefeckingleivable - note the cars, windbreaks donkey-sized dogs and wankers on the far shore. I asked this bloke why he was throwing out so much bread, pointed out that bread was not good for the birds and that it attracted vermin. He smiled broadly and gestured that he couldn't understand me.

So much bread that there are not many Mute Swans bothering to pair up - these are an exception.

A bit of spawn in the pond behind the carpark.

I eventually had to leave and go to work. On the way home I came via the lane and stopped to grab a shot of the only flowers I noted along there yesterday ..

Common Field-speedwell