WHERE THE HERONS FLEW

There is a very beautiful place not very far from here. It is called Far Ings Nature Reserve. It lies alongside the south bank of the River Humber. We found it by accident one day after we moved back to my home county in May 2009. It consists of lots of ponds or lakes and there are bird hides at various points within the Reserve. From within these bird hides it is possible to see all kinds of birds, particularly water birds. Like the herons. Also the rare bitterns that boom. We used to sit oveerlooking the lake and just ahead of us was a point where the herons used to stand for hours fishing. I thought they were the most beautiful things that I had ever seen. There they would stand perfectly still on one leg looking down at the water, then suddenly they would dive into the water with their beaks and come up again with a fish. Until that moment they were statuesque. We could sit for hours watching the heron. Words could not describe the beauty of that place. Often I would get my two dogs out of the car and take a long walk along the river bank and in the bushes and hedgerows along the way were all sorts of birds. At one point we had to pass under the great Humber Bridge and it felt so eerie walking underneath it listening to the roar of the traffic passing over the briedge. Beyond that was Chowder Ness where the tidal river came right up to the wall at the edge of the bank. It was only a low wall and there was a bit of a drop down into the water or onto the beach when the tide was not in. All sorts of birds could be seen at the water’s edge when the tide was out, but when the tide was in you could hear it crashing onto the wall. There was another big pond there too and we saw all kinds of birds there. There were often the most beautiful sunsets there, and one evening four herons came flying past just above the river. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

Those things I will never see again, and that fills me with great sadness. I long to go and feel the wind on my face and hear the waves crashing again but the track down to Chowder Ness is now too rough to travel down in our car. It seems so long ago now.