Denshaw Reservoirs
A small brown bird able to parachute? Why not? I gain a
disproportionate level of enjoyment from watching the spring display flight of
the common Meadow Pipit. Up they go to a fair height and then, wings
outstretched, make a steady vertical descent while singing their characteristic
pip-pip-pip call. This modest yet cheerful sound used to be heard in
Strinesdale but changes in land use seem to have driven the birds from old nest
sites. I used to walk up a grassy path not far from the church and one day
noticed a finely woven nest installed in the side of a low earth bank. A day or
two later, a clutch of eggs could be discerned. The eggs hatched, the chicks
duly maturing into fledgling Meadow Pipits. Now, sadly, this humble, delightful
bird is listed as a declining species. Yesterday at Denshaw they were abundant
however, and, joy of joys, a bird could be seen parachuting and pipping.
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| Meadow Pipet |
One of the finest sounds of the moorland fringes at this
time of year is the call of the Curlew. As I opened the car door, there it was,
rolling across the grassland ‘loud, slowly delivered and remarkably liquid’ as
it says in the Collins Guide. Soon a pair came powering above the reservoir,
strong and purposeful birds perhaps two feet in length including the impressive
downwardly curved bills. Curlew numbers are also falling, and a campaign has
been launched to reverse the decline.
It was great to see a pair of Lapwings in acrobatic flight
above the water and against a blue sky. As they jinked and twisted, their backs
appeared blackish-green showing why they are also known as Green Plovers.
As I came away a small butterfly settled in a culvert next
to the path. Not just any butterfly, but a blue
butterfly.
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