Well, after fabulous weather for the previous bank holiday weekends, this one has been much more typical. Cold winds gave way to rain today, but we had one of those moments when you really need eyes in the back of your head.
A turtle dove was heard singing close to the information point at the car park. We only had to walk a few metres to get a clear sight-line, and the telescope views were stunning. You could even see the throat feathers moving as it purred.
One of our visitors turned away from the telescope at just the right moment, and spotted a bittern flying up from the reedbed behind us. The bittern gained height, and flew over the tree tops to the next lake - I wonder how many people saw it flying over the track between the lakes.
We turned our attention back to the turtle dove, but after just a few seconds, it flew off and out of sight. Views of either species are so precious, we did need eyes in the backs of our heads.
Over the weekend, people have heard our singing nightingale and ten breeding warbler species, watched great crested grebe chicks, and admired a one-year old Mediterranean gull, but perhaps the most memorable feature for many was the spectacle of hundreds of common swifts feeding at tree-top height, or lower, across the entire site.