Reading Berkshire

Thursday 6^th June 2013, In the morning I went to Reading to see a client, I arrived around 08:30 at The Anchorage, Bridge Street, parked up around the back overlooking the river Kennet.

The client was not on site, and after a quick call found out he was running late. So I started to watch the Feral Pigeons, then saw a Woodpigeon land in the trees on the opposite bank. On the river were Mallard and Moorhen and under the trees on a build-up on weed were two Grey Wagtails. Some Starlings flew over and in and around the trees and bushes near my car were Blackbird, Wren and recently fledged Blue tits, I would have said that very morning, for their first time out of the nest.

Two Canada Geese flew along the river and a Collared Dove landed on the far bank, briefly as a passing cyclist soon went passed. I could hear the calls of the Blue Tits above me, then one landed on the wall next to the river, it constantly called and wing flapped, it was very unsteady and a weak flyer, I thought about getting out of my car to try and move it away from the edge of the river, but I was worried about scaring it away in the direction of the river, and as it was moving towards some bushes/flower bed, I stayed put, then all of a sudden it turned and flew, over the river but its flight was downwards and only making it half way across, landing in the river, I watched it trying to get to out, then I had a work call, and after this I could not relocate the fledgling Blue Tit.

A family of Greylag Geese two adults and four goslings came up stream, and a Black-headed Gull made a brief appearance pickling some bread from the water’s surface as it floated down stream.

The client arrived and I went in to carry out the work required, while backing up his data I noticed two Carrion Crows on the roof of a nearby building and some Swifts flying over. Job finished and as the client was checking out his new PC, to confirm all ok, a family of Mute Swans came upstream, two adults and two cygnets. On my way back to my car I looked down and on the river was an adult Cormorant, not a bad morning of urban birding.