Sitting in the hurt locker that is the west hide at Connah’s Quay NR, I often muse on what makes the perfect hide.
Probably the two most important factors are location and ergonomics; as a birder I want to be close to the birds and comfortable.
There are not many hides that are in poor locations (unless anybody knows differently!), with only the Sandgrounders hide at Marshside – way too low by my reckoning – and the Foresty Commission Hide at Foel Frech in Cloclaenog - that presumably was intended to overlook a Black Grouse lek, but now only allows close inspection of young conifer trees – the only ones immediately springing to mind.
Maybe the Centenary hide at the north of Lake Vyrnwy falls into this category by virtue of the fact that I suspect the viewing facility is so named because the last time anybody saw a bird from there was one hundred years ago! However, since you have the opportunity to see some fabulous birds as you walk to it, then I have excluded it.
Readers of this blog from last year will also remember that I am not very impressed when potentially good locations for hides are taken up by catering facilities!
Examples of hides in excellent locations are thankfully many. By far and away my favourite hide is the elevated Marain Mawr at Ynys-Hir overlooking the beautiful Dyfi Estuary and surrounding area, although this is run a very close second by the farthest of the two raised hides at the Dolydd Hafren reserve in Montgomeryshire that provides a wonderful panoramic over a natural floodplain in the River Severn.
Where most hides tend to fail is through poor design and examples of uncomfortable experiences are legion.
Possibly the greatest offender is the west hide at Connah’s Quay, that despite its superb position suffers from the narrowest viewing windows built in Wales since the archers’ slits were cut into Conwy Castle.
The pair of adjacent hides at the end of the path at Morfa Madryn are also badly designed with the low and high seats and windows seemingly suitable only for dwarfs and basketball players.
Equally annoying are the hides at Moore NR. Whilst robustly built and generally well situated, the shelf of wood underneath the window is invariably too thick to attach my hide clamp too.
What is so frustrating about poor design is that it is so unnecessary. The hide at Inner Marsh Farm – whether by accident or design – seems to be nearly faultless. The windows are large, the bench is the correct height and everybody from photographer to causal birder with binoculars seems content. Perhaps the only drawback is its size – with the reserve becoming much more popular in recent years, it can be a squeeze sometimes!
Until later.
Probably the two most important factors are location and ergonomics; as a birder I want to be close to the birds and comfortable.
There are not many hides that are in poor locations (unless anybody knows differently!), with only the Sandgrounders hide at Marshside – way too low by my reckoning – and the Foresty Commission Hide at Foel Frech in Cloclaenog - that presumably was intended to overlook a Black Grouse lek, but now only allows close inspection of young conifer trees – the only ones immediately springing to mind.
Maybe the Centenary hide at the north of Lake Vyrnwy falls into this category by virtue of the fact that I suspect the viewing facility is so named because the last time anybody saw a bird from there was one hundred years ago! However, since you have the opportunity to see some fabulous birds as you walk to it, then I have excluded it.
Readers of this blog from last year will also remember that I am not very impressed when potentially good locations for hides are taken up by catering facilities!
Examples of hides in excellent locations are thankfully many. By far and away my favourite hide is the elevated Marain Mawr at Ynys-Hir overlooking the beautiful Dyfi Estuary and surrounding area, although this is run a very close second by the farthest of the two raised hides at the Dolydd Hafren reserve in Montgomeryshire that provides a wonderful panoramic over a natural floodplain in the River Severn.
Where most hides tend to fail is through poor design and examples of uncomfortable experiences are legion.
Possibly the greatest offender is the west hide at Connah’s Quay, that despite its superb position suffers from the narrowest viewing windows built in Wales since the archers’ slits were cut into Conwy Castle.
The pair of adjacent hides at the end of the path at Morfa Madryn are also badly designed with the low and high seats and windows seemingly suitable only for dwarfs and basketball players.
Equally annoying are the hides at Moore NR. Whilst robustly built and generally well situated, the shelf of wood underneath the window is invariably too thick to attach my hide clamp too.
What is so frustrating about poor design is that it is so unnecessary. The hide at Inner Marsh Farm – whether by accident or design – seems to be nearly faultless. The windows are large, the bench is the correct height and everybody from photographer to causal birder with binoculars seems content. Perhaps the only drawback is its size – with the reserve becoming much more popular in recent years, it can be a squeeze sometimes!
Until later.
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