Williamson's Weekly Nature Notes - Jan 6

The lock gates on the canal, which run from Chichester to the sea at Birdham were tight closed.

But the waters which drain back into the tide were flowing over through the cracks, and he had found the place to be.

I expect he often went there. It reminded me of the time long ago when I watched an otter playing with a rope of water tumbling in a tiny stream from among the rocks on Exmoor.

The otter stood on his hind legs like a small child and bit the silver rope, trying to hold it with his paws. For several minutes it played there, as droplets slid along the whiskers, the small white teeth unable to grip this slipping, sliding torrent that would not stay still but everlastingly slid between the grasp.

Was the moorland wanderer playing or was it annoyed it could not control and hold still this strange prey which was much more slippery than any eel. This after all, is how an otter would deal with an eel.

But I expect the experience was a bit of fun, for they love to play, and he probably went that way quite often to play with his slippery friend.

They will, after all, have fun sliding down snow-slippery banks into the water, returning several times to enjoy this game. Swans enjoy turning somersaults in the water, I have seen this many times at places like Petworth Great Pond in the park, and in the Arundel Wildfowl and Wetland Centre.

Wild geese and ducks will go almost berserk in the excitement of bathing, diving underwater and racing back and forth, splashing suddenly on the surface in a thrall of spray.

The birds in my garden have a constant supply of fresh water in an old frying pan which is just deep enough and not too deep for the small warblers like chiffchaffs and blackcaps.

They become bedraggled after thrashing about, and the smaller birds often wait for the blackbird to bath when, if they stand nearby but not close enough to be pecked, they can enjoy a shower as the bigger bird becomes excited.

I have watched cats play with a dripping tap, trying to swipe the drops as they appear and then quickly washing their whiskers.

There are few things more invigorating than a dousing. Beethoven when he lived in Vienna two centuries ago found himself so inspired by water that he had to take frequent showers.

Trouble was, his shower consisted of a bucket of cold water he poured over his head. He used to live in rented apartments, often on the top floor.

Apparently he didn't always realise that the water was pouring through the floor of his rooms down into the ceilings of the rooms below so he had to move often and one estimate is that this happened 50 times with different landlords. But his showers inspired some of the greatest music of all time.