As
I have stated before there is a reason for each of the 'toys' on my
bike and here is yet another of them and why she travels with me.
The
Lads on the Bike – (3) Ophelia the Orca
Last
year, behind me for the Biking Birder journey, placed atop sleeping
bag and tent,was a large mammoth, Mani. He was a gift from my niece
Emily and a wonderful addition to the entourage.
For
the whole of 2015, a cycling trip of around 9,000 miles, Mani the
Mommoth maintained a rather morose presence. Never much conversation,
Mani seemed to only come to life whilst we travelled together through
the Ice Age sculptured landscapes of Wales and Scotland. He revelled
in the huge u-shaped valleys of the Highlands. Wistfully he would
sigh as though dreaming of past times. He was an animal from the past
with no future.
Let's
go back to January the first, 2016. I am at Upton Warren Nature
Reserve for the day; a Worcestershire Wildlife Trust treat. Friends
are here to see me off yet again, another Biking Birder year begins.
Two
of those friends include Tim and Mary, father and daughter.
Mary has
a new occupant for the bike, an orca – or in old-speak, a killer
whale. Wally the whale, Mary proudly announces but I prefer Oscar the
Orca. He is large, black and white and he presents a problem. Where
will he fit on the bike?
Mani
suggests a solution. He doesn't want to endure a year on the road
once more. Last year was enough with roads, cities and sterile
farmlands. He wants a quiet life in a place where he can be left to
his memories. Mary offers her bedroom and Oscar takes Mani's place
atop the sleeping bag and tent.
The
journey begins and the first two months have The Biking Birder
heading south west, down to Cornwall's Lands End before turning to
cycle along the British South coast.
Oscar
thrills at the seaside landscapes of the southern counties, from the
granite headlands to the Jurassic coast of Dorset. He is hoping to se
his cousins; the porpoises and dolphins to which he is related.
In
Hampshire, in the New Forest, two of BB's (Biking Birder) best
friends, Kerry Reynolds and her wonderful, wildlife ambassador son,
Dominik, give him an otter for the bike.
https://www.facebook.com/nfwildlifepark/?pnref=lhc
Kerry
works at the excellent New Forest Wildlife Park whilst Dominik has
received many awards for his superb work for nature.
https://www.facebook.com/DominiksWildlifeFund/?pnref=story
By
the strangest of coincidences BB finds out during his visit that
Oscar the Orca is actually a female orca! A female stowaway amongst
The Lads; a Bob who really is a Kate.
Ophelia
the Orca takes her place as usual on the bike. Oscar the Otter is
now on the front. More about him on a later date. By the way, Oscar
the Otter has a great rapport with Ricky the Robin. Great to see the
friendships and partnerships developing.
Oscar
the Orca is for the Marine Conservation Society, a charity devoted to
improving all habitats and environs around our extensive United
kingdom coastline.
https://www.mcsuk.org/
From
beach cleaning to lobbying for great marine protection zones, the
work of the MCS id phenomenal and it is a privilege to have a
representative with me to remind me that it is not just terrestrial
habitats that need protection.
Whilst
I was at Spurn Nature Reserve week before last, I collected each day
I was there a number of carrier bags full of plastic rubbish washed
up on the beaches. This I felt was my way of saying thank you to
Spurn for the rare birds I saw there. Sadly I am sure that I could
do the same every day for a whole year and there would always be more
arriving to deal with.
How
I would love every birder to do the same; pick up some rubbish every
time they go birding.
I
remember meeting a lovely very old lady at Dungeness who says that
every day she collects a plastic carrier bag full of rubbish. Every
little action helps.
Maybe
a link to Albert the Albatross comes in here. After all so many of
his kind are starved to death by the ingestion of plastic particles
and discarded pieces.
This
September the Marine Conservation Society are having their annual
beach clean campaign. Now this coincides with a time that I will be
on fair Isle. Last year I cleared a long beach of plastic, mostly one
use plastic bottles and discarded fishing tackle. I hope to do the
same there this year. Well, no actually I hope to find no plastic on
the beaches but expect masses of it.
So
who have we discussed now? :-
Part
(1) - Albert the Albatross (RSPB and Marine Conservation Society)
Part
(2) - Acorn the Parrot and Manu the Frog (Chaskawasi-Manu and
the Wildfowl &
Wetland trust)
Please
don't forget that there are still Bobette the Caterpillar, Scaggy the rabbit, Colin the Stone
Curlew, Ricky the Robin, Oscar the otter and Tigger still to mention.
If
you would like to help me along, as well as the Lads and Lasses on
the bike, then please either make a donation to any of the chosen
charities. Links are above for the RSPB, Asthma UK, WWT and
Chaskawai-Manu. Maybe you would like to sponsor me 1p (or whatever) a
bird. If 1p is the amount you choose then that would mean hopefully
£3.00 will be collected from you at the end of the year. Every
penny of the sponsorship money will go to the charities.
Finally
during my rest all of my family have added their names to the
sponsorship list. Love and thanks to them all. xx
Thanks
everyone for looking, reading, supporting and hopefully enjoying the
blog.
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