Just half a mile from home is the wonderfully named Canford Bottom. It has a roundabout with 70 sets of traffic lights. On the other side of the roundabout, accessed via an underpass on Old Ham Lane, the River Stour runs through fields and meadows. I popped down there this afternoon after the school run with the dog and my camera.
It was overcast, but not gloomy and there were some interesting bird species around, such as this pair of Gadwall. I did see a couple of kingfishers, but was unable to get a decent shot – sorry.
The river is quite mature at this stage. Overall its just over 60 miles long and we are just about 10 miles from its mouth at Christchurch harbour. Today the levels were quite full and the river was fast flowing. This little egret was fishing and ignored me as I got a few pictures from the opposite bank.
A mile further along Ham Lane is Longham Lakes. This has a large population of cormorants. This one appeared to need some time out from the colony and was perched here unconcerned by passers by.
There were smaller species around. It was easier to hear them than see them, but this male reed bunting landed on the barbed wire fence running alongside the river. It didn’t stay long, but gave me a choice of left side or right side profile.
Today I didn’t get to see any otters. I saw one earlier in the week, but again the light was poor. Otters have been reintroduced to the river about ten miles up stream and they do attract attention when they appear.
Stephen's Wildlife 