PORTRACK NATURE RESERVE (17/08/11)

This is a place I really enjoy a wander round. It could do with a hide or two. I suspect it had them in the past but they get trashed by the local wildlife. Even the platform in the reed beds has been dismantled and that was a good place for Damsel Flies. It still is but there were none about today. Even the ‘Wot One Can See ‘Ere’ board has gone walkabout…………A robust approach to the vandals is required………..I’ll drop an e-mail to Dave the Ditherer. If he has resumed his holidays he can soon zip back and sort them.

On our stroll we pass the Whitewater slalom course which is being upgraded for the Olympics…….they are not coming here but at least the area will benefit from a what promises to be a grand venue for paddlers. It’s still not finished but they are getting there.

   The gates are in, most of the grass is in so a bit of tidying up and the job is done. The funny shadows are chain link fencing to keep the wildlife out.

  Whilst on with the refurbishment they have installed four Archimedes Screws. The old Greek designed them for pumping water but here they are run in reverse and use the head of water provided by the Tees Barrage to generate electricity. They are not pretty but far less intrusive than wind generators. A little imaginative painting and lighting and they could become spectacular with water splashing down them. Odd…..the mesh fence doesn’t show on this one………….I wish I knew why because the same phenomena occurs seemingly at random when I visit bird prisons.

The view over the reserve with Middlesbrough on the skyline and I promise this is the last…………for a while!

  Planet Middlesbrough. This I like, they are better with tall bits breaking the skyline.

On to the reserve. There were no seals in the Tees. No Blackheaded Gulls or Terns so we wandered inland. I make it sound like miles……..it’s a couple of miles round trip on flat tarmac paths.

Young Lapwings, there were more than ten……I wasn’t  in the mood to use my toes! I’ve enjoyed this summer. It’s so much more enjoyable walking and saying there’s a Lapwing than thinking Oh! There’s bird with a daft haircut. The second one is cropped but will stand a click…………..just! By the skin of it’s beak.

Now onto flowers…………..heavily processed flowers. Walking is enjoyable and necessary for the dogs but lugging gear is a pain in the foot. I get my moneys worth out of what I snap. here goes.

My least favourite first……The Tansy…………….Okay it’s crap but it did inspire the others.

The Astor. This is the best.

Marsh Ragwort. In retrospect I could have dodged the foliage a bit more and cropped in tighter. I need an editor.

Dyers Greenweed…………..I hope!

Common Reed. I thumped the red channel on this but still failed to get the impact of these beautiful seed heads. Got my planet head on that’s why!

   I can’t even hazard a guess………..this is worth a click though as it has magical wee yellow bits in the middle of each flower………..the stamen I seem to recall they are called. They are so good that a macro outing for they/them (can’t decide) alone is on the cards.

It is getting cloudy now………heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow. If it appears I’ll do a screen grab tutorial on planets. This new way is easy………….half a days work in my previous methods.

I’m really tired now so as Zebedee said at the end of The magic Roundabout it’s time for bed. Brian the snail was my favourite character. I have seen the original French version when working in Les Sables D’Alone. Le Manege Enchante. It was called if I remember rightly. It has loads of accents scattered about the title. It’s time for bed and I can’t be bothered looking for them in Word and then dropping them back into Live Writer.

Enjoy what’s left of Wednesday. Is anyone else getting prompts from Google to add AdSense? If so. Is it annoying to see advertisements? I’m all for a free pint but have always considered blogger recreation, a hobby, a means of honing my skills as a wiretr and potografer.   If you enjoy some of the posts then that is a bonus. Izz dooos like plenty of hits and comments though. Vain devil that I am.