Going with the flow

One of my favourite views - looking eastwards from the moat, Dungeness Bird Observatory

2016. Not yet with us, but undeniably casting a shadow upon all that we do. Over the years I have found that the days between Christmas and the New Year to be irritants, hours that get in the way of reaching the 'brave new world' that is the coming new year. But it hasn't happened this year. I have been quite content to live in the present and not project myself into some unknown future. It's maybe because I really haven't committed myself to any great plans or aims for next year.

I do have stuff that will bubble away in the background. A repeat of the Surrey v Northumberland patch birding competition has been agreed, with baseline figures in place (mine lowered from last year). There are a few species of plant and moth that I have yet to see that I quite fancy seeing, but these will happen (or not) in a laid back style. I have, for a while, annually visited the Pulborough/Arundel areas of West Sussex and always wondered why I don't do so more often. Maybe I will in 2016. Dungeness visits will happen when the shingle calls me, as it undoubtably will. Harry's bench will be waiting, the skies will need scanning and the mind will wander across the shingle, the sallows and out towards the sea (above). Locally, in woods, downs, farms and heaths, there is much to seek: plants and butterflies to count, moths to trap and release - and maybe 2016 will be kinder from a birding perspective than the paltry rewards my local efforts garnered in 2015.

Above all though, what I wish for my natural history time is that it brings joy. Wonder. Pleasure. Contentment. And if all that comes to me by watching a Dunnock in the back garden, then so be it. As this year proved to me, time and time again, the truly memorable events occur when you least expect them and in places that you hadn't even considered that such things could do.

May your own hopes for 2016 be realised. Live in the moment. Keep well and be happy.

Comments

Derek Faulkner said…
Your last paragraph says it all for me Steve. Too many naturalist these days get too wrapped up in the need to compete, whether it be with bird lists, photographs, etc. and have forgotten about that simple joy of watching the Dunnock in the garden.
30 December 2015 at 15:45
Steve Gale said…
True Derek, but I would definitely swap the Dunnock for a Bluetails!!!
30 December 2015 at 18:05
Derek Faulkner said…
Well that's where we are different Steve, rarities don't bother me, I just enjoy being out and about.
30 December 2015 at 19:12
Simon Douglas Thompson said…
I was talking over ethics of birding and stuff with a guy here last night. I just like birds, and the idea of chasing a rare migrant, one that's bound to die a rather lonely death a long way of home, makes my flesh crawl
30 December 2015 at 22:07
Steve Gale said…
We all have our opinion on how to go about our birding Simon, and as long as we are happy with what we personally do, then all is well.
30 December 2015 at 22:18
Dylan Wrathall said…
Hoping that you and the family have a great New Year - Dyl & Bev
31 December 2015 at 20:48
Steve Gale said…
And the same to the both of you my friend.
31 December 2015 at 20:59
Lucy @ A Natural Interlude said…
Spot on, Steve. Finding joy in unexpected places is a most welcome gift. Wishing you a very happy new year and many more moments of joy in the natural world.
1 January 2016 at 13:18
Steve Gale said…
And may joy come a find you Lucy! All the best for this year, I look forward to reading about it.
1 January 2016 at 16:03
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goldfinches and Lavender

Image
We have three medium-sized Lavender bushes in our back garden. Throughout the summer the flowers (which last for several months) are a magnet for insects and give off a most restful aroma. As tempting as it is to cut the dead stems in the autumn, we always leave them, as we know that during the late winter we will get visitors to feed on the seed heads... This video was taken from the kitchen window this morning. We will normally see one or two birds over a few days, but have had up to 14 at once. We never tire of watching them. Lavender is a wonderful plant to have in the garden, with year round natural history benefits. So what are you waiting for? They are readily available at a garden centre close to you right now! There is an historic association with Lavender in this part of northern Surrey and south London. Lavender fields have been harvested for many years, with one particular field close to Woodmansterne being very popular with day trippers. A significant proportion o...
Read more

Welcome back!

Image
In November 2005 I purchased a pair of Swarovski 10x42 EL binoculars from The London Camera Exchange shop in Guildford, for the then princely sum of £899. These bins have served me well, with almost daily use in all types of weather, testing their durability to the maximum - salt water spray, deluges of rain, 38C temperatures, dust, dirt, slight knocks... and apart from the armour coating that had started to bubble and come away from the body, nothing to be alarmed about. Then, in the summer of 2022, I noticed that I had a problem when close focusing - the outer focusing wheel would lose grip and it would take me an age to regain a middle-ground distance of focus - plus, over the next few weeks this outer focusing wheel became loose. I resorted to the use of tape to keep it all in place, but realised that I had to do something about it in the long run. For a while I did consider buying a new pair - after all, they were then 17-years old - but they were still optically superb. It seemed...
Read more

A special day

In birding, timing can mean the difference between an average day in the field and that of a spectacular one. Good timing can be helped by reading the weather conditions correctly, or understanding local conditions but it is more often down to pure luck. In this case, I just got lucky... I had not visited Dungeness since March 2022, quite a gap for me. It was high time that I once more trod the shingle and my timing of a visit was down to several factors, mostly a personal liking for mid-late autumn but also because I needed to be at home until September 20th and could not make the journey south until then. I also chose to stay at the bird observatory for a few days rather than make it a day trip. All this conveniently found me stepping outside the observatory's back door in the breaking dawn of Sunday 22nd September, quickly making my way to the fishing boats, an area I prefer to stand to best appreciate any visible bird migration, an aspect of birding that I find exhilarating.  A...
Read more