Tales of the River Usk Bank.
13th August 2022
I have been making the most of this glorious weather by getting up very early almost every morning over the last ten days. I can’t sleep much anyway, so there’s little point in just lying there half-awake waiting for a perceived civilised time to get up. I have been attempting to photograph birds on the River Usk which currently is at the lowest level I can remember, you can with care walk across in places just wearing wellingtons and indeed this is what I have been doing. I have crossed the river a few times, even in the dark, to get to better vantage points. I must stress though that unless you are confident then it’s best to avoid doing this, especially if you are alone. I know from experience the deeper parts of the river which are still over wellington height and I also use two sticks to probe the river bed for uneven stones because you can still overbalance quite easily. You’re unlikely to drown if you fall over but you would still be very wet indeed and possibly get injured, and your expensive and fragile photographic equipment could be ruined. The Usk is relatively warm where the river is shallow but there are still some eight foot deep pools which look inviting but remain very cold and could surprise unwary people, and this is inevitably what happens when accidents occur every year around the country in spells of warm weather.
Last week I crossed the river in the darkness to access an area where I had watched Kingfishers fishing regularly. It was a bit of a struggle but I was all set up under cover before first light full of expectation that a bird would land on my perches. It didn’t happen, the Kingfishers were there, four of them, two adults and two juveniles, but they completely ignored my perches and fished all morning from overhanging Willows. This was a big disappointment but it’s a regular feature of wildlife photography and that’s the way it is – move on and try again. Persistence is a fundamental element in successful wildlife watching, without it you will never achieve anything.
Fast forward to two days ago, previously I had observed the same birds in another area, so up again at 04.00 –Yawn! Under cover by 05.00 and here they come again, this time very briefly landing on my perch placed in the river in my concrete flower pot, (see previous blogs). However, they were still favouring some overhanging Willows near my artificial perch. I had some shots.
Kingfishers frequently fish off semi-submerged rocks in a river but also dive from heights of twenty five feet, contradicting how many people think they operate. They can spot a small fish from ten yards away using their polarizing vision- remarkable!
However, I had to leave by 10.00 because by then my portable hide had become hotter than Satan’s underpants and was quite frankly unbearable.
After these observations I decided to do something about the situation with the Willows if I was to get any close-up shots. Yesterday at 10.00 after doing some shopping I went down to the river and walked under said Willows, which was just about possible in wellingtons. Now I could see why the birds were fishing from there, below was a crystal clear pool wherein which many little fish were swimming, small fish like the river edges because there they can avoid the larger fish who eat them. The life of a small fish is fraught with danger, it’s either typically a Brown Trout or a Kingfisher hunting you.
I had brought a loppers and pruning saw with me and I proceeded to cut some 'fallen' branches to size, this may seem drastic but my experience with branches is that the nicest looking branch is always the wrong shape and you can’t do anything about it. I worked for about an hour and a half looking for the right branches and then fitting then sympathetically into the Willows environment. As I’ve mentioned previously never alter the birds feeding situation, it’s nothing to you but it matters to them. We get our food easily, but if we had to dive into a river every time we were hungry we would have a different perspective. I was sweating like a dray horse by the time I’d finished, (not a pleasant thought, and one I would discourage the readers of this blog from dwelling on).
These new perches raised my expectation levels for the following morning and after stopping to look at a magnificent full and golden moon over the Beacons I was again on the river and under cover by 05.00. It was a glorious morning and again I could hear the tell-tale ‘Peep’ of a Kingfisher, they are also early risers. As I sat there just watching the river - a scene of blissful tranquillity, with its soft bubbling water tumbling over rounded pebbles fashioned over millennia, I Felt really uplifted. There’s nothing like first light, it’s good for the soul. I could also hear the ‘Yaffle’ of a Green Woodpecker and slowly but surely the other incumbents of the river.
Dippers
These birds must be the most waterproof around, they never look wet.
Grey Wagtail feeding right outside my hide.
Also the visiting Little Egret appeared.
Chiffchaffs and a Spotted Flycatcher flitted around the trees and Brown Trout rose out of the water taking the early morning insects.
By now it was 06.00 and the daylight was illuminating the willows, suddenly there was a male Kingfisher on one of my perches.
A vertical branch I had propped up with river stones which was overlooking the previously mentioned pool.
What a nice feeling of success, not only for me but the bird had an extra perch which it obviously liked. I took a few shots of him in various poses before he flew away. Several times Kingfishers came to fish on a variety of my perches.
Also fishing from the Willows.
I was able to take some reasonable shots. The previous day’s work had certainly paid off but by 10.00 the inevitable heat had started to build again, and if anything it was even hotter. As soon as the birds had disappeared up river I took the opportunity to pack my kit away and leave for home – a stunning morning on the river bank.
See video link below.
https://youtu.be/kWz1pTXiols
Last week I crossed the river in the darkness to access an area where I had watched Kingfishers fishing regularly. It was a bit of a struggle but I was all set up under cover before first light full of expectation that a bird would land on my perches. It didn’t happen, the Kingfishers were there, four of them, two adults and two juveniles, but they completely ignored my perches and fished all morning from overhanging Willows. This was a big disappointment but it’s a regular feature of wildlife photography and that’s the way it is – move on and try again. Persistence is a fundamental element in successful wildlife watching, without it you will never achieve anything.
Fast forward to two days ago, previously I had observed the same birds in another area, so up again at 04.00 –Yawn! Under cover by 05.00 and here they come again, this time very briefly landing on my perch placed in the river in my concrete flower pot, (see previous blogs). However, they were still favouring some overhanging Willows near my artificial perch. I had some shots.
Kingfishers frequently fish off semi-submerged rocks in a river but also dive from heights of twenty five feet, contradicting how many people think they operate. They can spot a small fish from ten yards away using their polarizing vision- remarkable!
However, I had to leave by 10.00 because by then my portable hide had become hotter than Satan’s underpants and was quite frankly unbearable.
After these observations I decided to do something about the situation with the Willows if I was to get any close-up shots. Yesterday at 10.00 after doing some shopping I went down to the river and walked under said Willows, which was just about possible in wellingtons. Now I could see why the birds were fishing from there, below was a crystal clear pool wherein which many little fish were swimming, small fish like the river edges because there they can avoid the larger fish who eat them. The life of a small fish is fraught with danger, it’s either typically a Brown Trout or a Kingfisher hunting you.
I had brought a loppers and pruning saw with me and I proceeded to cut some 'fallen' branches to size, this may seem drastic but my experience with branches is that the nicest looking branch is always the wrong shape and you can’t do anything about it. I worked for about an hour and a half looking for the right branches and then fitting then sympathetically into the Willows environment. As I’ve mentioned previously never alter the birds feeding situation, it’s nothing to you but it matters to them. We get our food easily, but if we had to dive into a river every time we were hungry we would have a different perspective. I was sweating like a dray horse by the time I’d finished, (not a pleasant thought, and one I would discourage the readers of this blog from dwelling on).
These new perches raised my expectation levels for the following morning and after stopping to look at a magnificent full and golden moon over the Beacons I was again on the river and under cover by 05.00. It was a glorious morning and again I could hear the tell-tale ‘Peep’ of a Kingfisher, they are also early risers. As I sat there just watching the river - a scene of blissful tranquillity, with its soft bubbling water tumbling over rounded pebbles fashioned over millennia, I Felt really uplifted. There’s nothing like first light, it’s good for the soul. I could also hear the ‘Yaffle’ of a Green Woodpecker and slowly but surely the other incumbents of the river.
Dippers
These birds must be the most waterproof around, they never look wet.
Grey Wagtail feeding right outside my hide.
Also the visiting Little Egret appeared.
Chiffchaffs and a Spotted Flycatcher flitted around the trees and Brown Trout rose out of the water taking the early morning insects.
By now it was 06.00 and the daylight was illuminating the willows, suddenly there was a male Kingfisher on one of my perches.
A vertical branch I had propped up with river stones which was overlooking the previously mentioned pool.
What a nice feeling of success, not only for me but the bird had an extra perch which it obviously liked. I took a few shots of him in various poses before he flew away. Several times Kingfishers came to fish on a variety of my perches.
Also fishing from the Willows.
I was able to take some reasonable shots. The previous day’s work had certainly paid off but by 10.00 the inevitable heat had started to build again, and if anything it was even hotter. As soon as the birds had disappeared up river I took the opportunity to pack my kit away and leave for home – a stunning morning on the river bank.
See video link below.
https://youtu.be/kWz1pTXiols