First trip to the Hide

Image: Grey Heron, Cley, 6th August 2006 (Steve Gantlett). From Daukes Hide.

It was drizzly this morning and so I sat on my kitchen step, drinking my tea and watching the birds in the garden until it had stopped. I do this every morning before work. It's always blackbird central in our garden but today started particularly well because I saw a wren and a blue tit, two of my favourites, which I took to be a good omen before my first trip to The Hide. Then I saw a magpie but I didn't let that put me off.

I cycled to the hide, trying to avoid killing the eight million slugs that had come out post-rain. On the canal the coots were out in force. The first one I saw had three chicks, which make an incredible noise for small birds. Further along I spotted what I had been been dubbing 'evil ducks' but I have learnt today (my first lesson) that they are in fact tufted ducks. It's the yellow eyes I'm not keen on. Then I saw my first ducklings! Not ever, obviously. But the first ones this year. I can't understand why there are so many bloody ducks around this summer and never any ducklings. So that ticked a box.

Then it was Hide time. I got off my bike at the viewing point. There were birdwatchers there already - looking like birdwatchers. I chortled inwardly at their overly large waterpoofs, walking boots and enormous backpacks. I prided myself on not looking like one of them. Then I noticed my right trouser leg was still tucked into my sock from cycling: I looked like one of them.

I struggled to open the gate to get into the Hide, which was a bit embarrassing as I then had to pretend to be examining a sign near it when the Birdwatchers walked by so they wouldn't realise I wasn't a pro. Then I was in - and it was brilliant.

I couldn't believe how close I was to the birds - and I was the only one there. I watched one of my all time favourites, the grey heron (see pic) for quite some time. It was so peaceful. I was scribbling in my note book, my movements followed by some sort of moth and the only sounds coming from the birds outside.

I tried the next Hide. There were men with big lenses in there but I tried to act like I was a regular - except I couldn't get the flaps of the Hide open. They politely ignored that.

My spots for the day:

• at least a dozen cormorants
• three or four grey herons
• common terns, dipping and gliding over the water
  
• evil...oops, tufted ducks
• 2 x lapwings
• 2 x greylag geese
• a swan with four lovely fat fluffy signets
• hundreds of swifts catching insects on the wing (could be house martins...it's early days for my swallows v housemartins v swift identification)

Not bad for day one.