A Bird's Eye View of the Landscape

As no two days are alike here, following a routine is out of the question for wildlife anywhere in this country, especially in the south, in Autumn. Adapting to circumstances is the key to survival - birds are opportunists, as they don't hibernate, they either migrate in good time or stay to share their habitat with incoming birds, winter migrants. These leave rapidly freezing plains for more temperate lands - there's no better place than here in the south - and once discovered birds will return year after year….

 A view of the river in November with willows on the left and old oaks on the right.

Birds flying over the landscape follow the river, focussing on the glint of sunlight (or moonlight for night-flyers) on the water and the ribbon of trees and thickets along the banks.

Here a bridge was built over the river in 2011 but wildlife soon adapted to make use of the new feature. Kingfishers continued to fly low along the river, under the bridge, even when scaffolding was still in place during construction. Resident birds stayed put in the river buffer zone, the old Oaks and Field Maples, thickets of Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Holly and Ivy sustaining and sheltering them.

It's our responsibility to protect the riverside habitat whatever changes are made nearby- and improve it for wildlife, extending the wildlife habitat in all directions.