Bird-watching in Bristol and a close encounter with the police!

When I was in school, Bird watching, used to be one of my hobbies. Every sunday, I`d borrow a pair of binoculars from my biology teacher and head off into the woods around the school to catch a glimpse of some elusive feathered friends. I would end up having an adventure each time, so much so that I`d often skip the school lunch -and munch on raw carrots and radishes from a farm en route to douse my hunger - and return from the forests only in the evening.
When I left school, my birdwatching ground to a halt in spite of numerous attempts at restarting it. When I came over here to the UK, I thought I could revive the interest, but its been 4 years now and little has happened until now. All that changed on my last trip home. This time round, I was equipped with a camera (Sony DSC H9)that touched the fringes of the requisite specifications for bird photography. .
Besides,this time, I had company. As always there was my brother continuously encouraging me, but also, I had discovered that Rosa`s parents were avid bird watchers too.
During my stay in India, I managed to click quite a few birds, of which, I`ve gathered a selection into the slide show below:


..and not just that, before leaving, all of us even managed to organize a bird watching trip to Thommankuthu waterfalls.
Therefore, when I returned to the UK, I had all intentions of kickstarting my birdwatching/bird photography again. However, the weather has been unbearably cold over the past few weeks to allow for any kind of outdoor hobby.

This week however, with a slight let up in the cold, I decided it was time to attempt something, and thus along with my camera, I set out on my cycle to discover an area that would allow for birdwatching.

Unknown to me until yesterday, is a wooded area lying very close to the university, rich in bird life of all kind. I stumbled upon it by cycling down an untested cycle path and was pleasantly surprised to find, looming ahead an expanse of thickly wooded area with this sign posted at its entrance:

I noticed that the path bifurcated into one that led into the woods while the other - a proper cycle path - went around its periphery.I would dearly have loved to head into the woods, but having my cycle with me negated that possibility. Thus I decided to leave the path through the woods for another time andexplore the rest of the track by cycle. Although stuck on my cycle, I was able to catch sight of many birds, including a Hoopoe - a bird which I havent sighted since schooldays and a Jay and even a deer which disappeared as soon as I fished out my camera.

Birds are among the toughest subjects to photograph, and one requires either incredible luck or infinite patience or both to get good pictures. Sighting a bird is tough enough but sighting it in a location which is amenable for photography is even harder, and actually clicking a picture by zooming, focussing and getting the rest of the settings to satisfaction, while at the same time making yourself oblivious to the bird, all in the split second before the it decides it`s had enough and flown away is quite a task. Me, with one hand holding the bike and the other clicking away, could`nt accomplish much and ended up with more pictures of branches and leaves than birds!
But the days work was more than satisfactory with some other sightings including a Mistle thrush, black headed gulls,Blue tits,Coal tits, Starlings and nuthatches among others
Some of the better pics of the day are pooled into the slideshow below:

I returned home very much satisfied of the days outcome but with a resolve to return, on foot sometime to enable me to creep up on some of the more elusive birds.

And thus, the very next day, I set out on my walk to the woods, only this time it wouldnt be that pleasant!

(below is a map with icons depicting various incidents click the icon for details)

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On my way to the woods, I passed by a complex housing the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and it so happened that my single minded focus on bird photography was drawn towards a large water body decorating the lawns of the MoD. In the water were many water birds, including what looked like terns , gulls and moorhens. I was quite excited to see especially the last in the middle of an urban area and my camera clicked away at them. All this time I was blissfully unaware that I was under surveillance .

I clicked away until the moorhens were scared away by some passerbys and then I continued my walk up to the woods. Half way through I saw a police car parked up ahead. Not in my wildest dreams did I expect that they were lying in wait for me and keenly observing my actions!
When I got to the car, two police - a male and a female got out and requested to have a word. The cops then went on to explain that they had recieved a report claiming that I had been acting suspiciously around the MoD building and that they`d like to have a look at the pictures I took. I was a bit miffed and scared at the same time - I mean, which idiot of a spy would go around in broad daylight clicking spy pictures in full view of the public and then walk slam bang into a waiting police car! However, being a student in a foreign country,I knew better than to argue and obliged eagerly. When the officer saw picture after picture of gulls and pigeons and moorhens, he was either convinced of my innocence or thought that it was a good coverup. Anyhow, he decided to play it safe and ran an identity check on me, all the while assuring me that everything was fine and that I hadnt done anything wrong and attempting to crack a few jokes.
Having done their duty, and cracking a few more jokes to put me at ease, they let me go my way. I was more disturbed than shaken by the encounter. It probably was not wise of me to click photos of birds (by the roadside) belonging to a pond of the Ministry of Defence!!. UK, has a strange way of making a foreigner feel a foreigner no matter how long he stays here, but incidents like this make it all the more hard for one to feel at home.

I did continue my walk and ended up with some more pictures before I headed back, but the cops had doused my spirits and I had lost that keenness of the previous day and I only continued out of a fear that I was being watched and that I had to convince them that I was a only a fledgling birdwatcher struggling to reestablish his hobby, and not the James Bond they were looking for!

However, thats not going to put me off and I intend to continue my bird watching/photography with a sustained vigour, and I`m even considering in investing in a little better equipment. I`m sure you`ll hear from me again,meanwhile take a look at the "spy" photo`s I clicked on the day in this slideshow:

An Eggy Birthday

There`s two reasons why I`ve started this post with this photo. a) To give you all a preview of the extra hair I`m sporting on my face these days, and

b) To show off my new birthday sweater which Rosa has lovingly sent all the way from India (...and which I`m really kicked about :-)).

Coming back to my birthday, Thank you very much all of you, whose wishes have been pouring in all throughout the day by mail and phone. I realize that over the past few months, my email reply-rate has been nothing short of pathetic, and I apologize for it, but I am trying to go over my recieved mails and try and catch up with the mailing (hopefully!).

So, the question on everybody`s lips at the moment is : How does it feel to be having your last bachelor birthday? I`m not sure how to reply to that, I never thought of it that way until I was asked that question.


Anyhow, although I did`nt really plan any great celebration to mark the completion of my 28th year on earth, my friends had other plans. My friend, Lizeth, who is from Columbia, invited a few of us over for dinner to her place. We spent the evening enjoying a lovely Lasagne prepared by Duncan (Lizeths husband), chatting away, sipping glasses of wine that seemed to miraculously refil itself, and eating strange lolipops that either had chilli powder or worms in it!




Now, it seems it is custom in Columbia to smash eggs on the birthday boy`s head . Moreover I had heard that just a few days back Lizeth had been involved in an egg smashing incident with another colleague, who was unfortunate enough to have her birthday around Lizeth! However the fact that we were having dinner in her newly carpeted house gave me a measure of safety. Yet Lizeth being who she is is as predictable as the British weather. Thus I was a bit wary of my fate...and not without reason!


When the clock struck 12, out came the devil in her and she promptly smashed an egg on my head! I must say I had no clue when it came and for a few seconds thereafter, untill i felt a sticky wetness touching my skull and yellow ooze flowing down my forehead! An involuntary gesture of reaching out to feel the wetness on my head confirmed what it was, and I promptly headed for the kitchen.

While everyone thought I headed to the kitchen to wash the egg off, my intentions were a bit more sinister than self preservation. I was hunting for more eggs, which I did find! and so the inevitable reaction was revenge and I smashed one smack on her head when she least expected an assault!...and not satisfied with that, enlightened everyone else about the arsenal of eggs waiting to be deployed! Chaos followed as people either fled for safety or reached across to get revenge. The result being that we ended up as a mass of eggy people dripping yolk all over her carpet and kitchen!

Of course, I made the classic mistake of washing my hair with hot water and ended up with hard boiled/scrambled egg in my hair, but honestly it was an enjoyable experience. I look forward to bombarding Lizeth on her birthday..and meanwhile i think the tone has been set for all future birthday parties..oh you poor souls whose b`days are coming up!

I spent saturday evening sipping cocktails with a few friends. My 28th B`day has come and gone but I dont feel any older for it. I guess its only at 30 that it hits you hard, and I ve another couple of years before that and as for my last bachelor birthday, I guess I`m more eager to celebrate my 1st married birthday than fret over my last bachelor bday!

P.S.
oh yes that beard is staying for a while but I guess it will eventually come off!