Ebb & Flow

Eric Fitch Daglish writes in Birds of the British Isles that when comparing the flight of mammals and birds “bats have mastered the air within limits but […] no bats are capable of the long, swift sustained flights daily carried out by swifts and albatross.”

Always fascinated by the freedom of birds in flight, their agility, grace, and manoeuvrability, and their use of wings to impress or warn off, here are a few of the pictures I’ve taken in and around Victoria Tower Gardens by the River Thames in London.

This fascination with the agility of birds in the air and how eventually it led to designs of vehicles for human flight, is explored in an article on Aviation Inspired by Birds. The writer explains how Otto Lilienthal undertook meticulous research on birds and airfoils: “His glider designs, inspired by bird wings, paved the way for modern aviation pioneers.”
He goes on to say how the “diversity of wing shapes, each adapted for specific flight styles has served as the basis for different aircraft designs.” And here below, you can perhaps see some of the differences in the wing shapes and arrangement of feathers between the birds I have photographed. However, for professional images, comparisons and text by an expert, click here.

There are sayings and superstitions attached to some birds. Cormorants, for example, are regarded as a good sign in the Norwegian tradition, which says that they are the returning spirits of those lost at sea. Further on, I mention another superstition on the same lines: that seagulls carry the souls of sailors drowned at sea.

Though, of course I have not seen one, and very unlikely to see one along the River Thames, there is the famous tradition – evoked in Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – that to kill an albatross is very unlucky. However, seeing one, or protecting one, is regarded as a sign of good luck.

There is a plethora of superstition surrounding all kinds of birds but in this article I’ve kept to sayings specially associated with water birds.

As well as superstitions concerning cormorants there are also beliefs around sea gulls. Michael Trigg writes: “that gulls have long had a place in seagoing folklore and legends. Ocean sailors have seen the gull as a harbinger of good news, probably because on a long voyage, the sighting of a gull at sea meant land was close.”

Marlin Bree writes: “Old sailors believe that gulls are special — one should never harm a gull. Some even believed that the souls of their departed shipmates were reincarnated as gulls.”

Marlin Bree, who has studied gulls in passing over many years, admires the way, “they are able to shape and reshape their wing angles and even individual feathers for the best aerodynamic effect. They hover, soar the thermals, and then suddenly fold their wings, dive into the water, and instantly become fully aquatic. When they bob up again, they become airborne with just a few powerful flaps of their wings.” If you spend any time by the river, you will see exactly that.

Along with many others, I find watching birds a brief escape from the pressures of the world around us. If the tide is out, the shells and smaller creatures on theVictoria Tower Gardens foreshore are harvested by pigeons, black-backed and herring gulls, and crows. Pigeons, easily alarmed will take to the air together, swirl around and return. Gulls squawk and squabble: juveniles bother their parents for food; older gulls drop shells on hard surfaces below to crack them open; and others dart and dive across the water catching insects. But down by the water’s edge, it seems that crows usually rule, and these intelligent birds often fly up to crack open their booty on the riverside path, leaving empty shells to the puzzlement of some. Occasionally a cormorant will rest on the foreshore its wings outstretched, and if you’re lucky you might see one diving into the water and surfacing with a fish…

Sources and further information
BBC article: ‘The aircraft that may fly like a flock of geese’.
BoatUS: American author ‘Marlin Bree talks about how boaters can coexist with seagulls.’
Daglish, Eric Fitch: Birds of the British Isles, 1948
The Otto Lilienthal Museum
Trigg, Michael: Seagulls – Friend and Foe

Visitors and locals alike will walk beside, or sail upon the River Thames from source to sea, unaware that there is a whole organisation working behind the scenes “dedicated to protecting and preserving the natural beauty of the River Thames”. That organisation is The River Thames Society and Peter Finch is its Chairman.

First recruited to The River Thames Society by a member of the Hurlingham Yacht Club in around 1993, Peter became a branch member, and tidal warden coordinator. Elected to the Council in 2006, he also became Chair of the Central Tideway and Estuary Branch. He became Chairman of the Society in 2008.

However his association with another aspect of the Thames began many years before. His career started out in Cardiff in the Merchant Navy, where he worked as an Able Seaman for the Reardon Smith Shipping Company on a wide variety of vessels including bulk carriers, tankers, and liners. His work took him several times to the Royal Docks, now closed as trade has moved downstream. So with his knowledge of the Thames Estuary and a boat moored at Broomhouse Pontoon, Fulham, from where he has often journeyed upstream, he has had a wide and long experience of the Thames from source to sea.

As Chairman of the River Thames Society, Peter chairs the regular meetings and AGMs of the Council as well as overseeing the Society’s magazine: Thames Guardian. He also represents the Society at a number of events and functions where he is called upon to speak both on behalf of the Society and in his capacity as Chair of the Central Tideway & Estuary Branch.

When Peter mentioned that he was also the River Warden Co-ordinator of the tidal reaches of the Thames, he explained that “wardens are responsible for a section of river, reporting any issues – litter; path diversions; graffiti; foreshore rubbish; etc.” In his case, he will take up any problems on the tidal reaches with the Port of London Authority; the Environment Agency; and riverside local councils where appropriate. Only those close to the River Thames Society will appreciate how much dedication and hard work to “protect and preserve the natural beauty of the River Thames” goes on behind the scenes.
Peter represents a unifying thread along the River Thames, in contact with the many groups and associations that work for the good of the river, one of these being the Thames Path National Trail, another unifying thread along the length of the river.

However, not only is Peter Finch familiar with the tidal reaches of the Thames, he is also familiar with the river upstream beyond Teddington Lock, sailing there in his boat and taking part as Chairman, in events the whole length of the river.

Peter bought his first two boats, both motor boats, Petal and Lady Clare before retirement. Petal sailed only on canals. Lady Clare was his first Thames boat. He bought his present boat Josephine 4 in 2009, which he named after his late wife, and she is moored at Broomhouse Pontoon, Fulham. Josephine 4 is an Orkney Pilothouse 20 motor boat, whose original design is based on that of beach-launched fishing boats in Orkney.

One of the projects close to his heart is access to the river, which he developed in his detailed study: “Access to the Thames: Steps and Stairs”, with the latest update in April 2022. His painstaking work covers historic watermen’s stairs and drawdocks, together with more recent sites.
Following the 1995 Port of London Authority’s report Access to the River Thames ‘Steps, stairs and landing places on the tidal Thames’, which was “the first comprehensive survey of these facilities, and their condition”, Peter decided that it would be useful to undertake a similar survey. He explains: “Following the PLA’s method, I visited all the sites listed and described their current condition and accessibility.” It was a labour of love for it involved carefully observing sites from land and river where possible, from the tidal limit at Teddington to the Estuary, covering the fifteen London riparian authorities and the five in Essex and Kent”.

Another project close to his heart is the promotion of The River Thames Society, “the only organisation covering all aspects of river activities from source to sea.” Members are informed about events in their area, and with the Society’s quarterly magazine Thames Guardian, they can discover all kinds of articles aimed at their interests along the whole course of the Thames including the latest news; campaigns; boating; leisure; traditions; and history.

Of the many projects supported and influenced by the River Thames Society, which include the construction of the Thames Barrier and the creation of the Thames Path, the most recent is the phenomenal achievement of the Tideway Tunnel, or as it’s also known the “Super Sewer”. As the project was green lit in 2014 Peter Finch added his support saying that “it will see an end to the scandal of untreated sewage pouring into the Thames, removing a health hazard and restoring the river to a state of which we can all be proud.”*

And it is this wish to encourage pride in the river which is at the heart of Peter Finch’s love for the Thames and what motivates him to do all the work he does on its behalf.

The five sections of the Thames divided by the RTS
reflecting the different characteristics, stages, and scenery of the river.
Upper Thames:
88 miles from source to Mapledurham near Pangbourne.
Middle Thames:
38.5 miles including Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor.
Old Windsor to Teddington:
17.3 miles where the river widens passing through Staines and Walton-on-Thames before the final lock at Teddington.
Upper Tideway:
11 miles of tidal river passing through the London Boroughs of Richmond and Hammersmith & Fulham as far as Putney Bridge.
Central Tideway and Estuary:
60 miles from Putney through central London to the North Sea.

Sources and further Information
Many thanks to Peter Finch for meeting me on the PS Tattershall Castle, June 18, 2025, and for subsequent email exchanges.

*Quote on Tideway Tunnel by Peter Finch taken from The River Thames Society’s Our Heritage

Discover the work of The River Thames Society on their excellent site, and their publications, including their magazine Thames Guardian, edited by Ross Stokes.

Explore The River Thames Society’s Twitter-x account
@RTS_riverthames
Discover The River Thames Society on Bluesky
‪@riverthamessoc.bsky.social‬‬

The RTS can also be followed on Facebook and Instagram.

The River Thames Boat Project is a charity providing trips on the Thames for a wide range of community groups.
Thames Boat Hire: Le Boat