So after hearing there was a Mandarin Duck on the patch, I hurried out with the wife to see if I could spot it. Annoyingly, as we reached the lakes it started to pour down with rain, meaning our time there was very limited.
Despite only staying for around 40 minutes, we nevertheless saw a decent amount of birds, including four new ones for the year. When we arrived, the air with think with Swifts, Swallows and House Martins, all busy hawking for flies. Before long I spied a few Sand Martins, giving me my first new bird. There were plenty of baby ducks around and we also saw a pair of Canada Geese with several young, which is always nice to see.
Ducklings were everywhere. These ones were quite old.
Although we searched the island, I couldn't see any sign of the Mandarin Duck, but I did spot my first Common Sandpiper of the year, rushing along the bank in search of food. Aside from a few Mallard the island was mostly empty.
A number of Reed Buntings were in the reeds along the centre causeway and I also spied a Reed Warbler too, which kept on returning to a spot suggesting a nest was possibly nearby. Moving to the back there were a few very distant gulls in the back fields, as well as Magpies, Rooks, a Grey Heron and a Little Egret. Several blackbirds were also flying about in the thicket and I also spied a couple of Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. It was relatively quiet and the rain was starting to hammer down so we headed back to the car.
A very distant Blackcap.
Getting to the car park we spied a distant Blackcap singing, several Dunnocks and my first House Sparrows of the year.
Finally, some boring old House Sparrows on the patch!
I'm now up to 59 birds for the total year, which isn't that bad going at all.
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