counting coots

Some of you may have wondered where this 'Brent Reservoir' place is. Some of you may not give a shit. You would be right in thinking that it is in London, but it is a big place don't you know.

This picture taken from the hide may help you place it into a wider socio-geographic location.

However, if you don't know what that big shopping basket thingy is, and you still want to know where it is - look it up on the web or something yeah? There's a link down on the right somewhere.

Note that I said 'from the hide'. I have joined an exclusive club as I now have a key for the hide and spent some time there on Sunday afternoon. Mrs Thing was none to impressed by the size and volume of the spider webs in the ceiling, but as hides go - this one is quite luxurious. There was nothing to really shout about while we were there, but that is not the point. I did see many species of birds 'getting jiggy wid it' including Lapwing and Common Tern. I don't know specifically if this particular bird was involved in this behaviour but here is a pic anyway.

There are loads of Grebes on the water (but many more coots of course). Here is a picture of one of them.

On the way back towards the north circular, I saw a crow mobbing a large bird which I didn't think was a Heron. It could just have been the brief view or the light that made it not look like a Heron. Unfortunately as I was bombing down the Edgware Road in a ruddy great van, trying to change lanes at 40mph with a Beemer right up my arse, it wasn't the ideal time to keep looking up and left. Ho hum.