Cold rain yesterday, wind and sun today - so Spring is still here after all. The wind has made birdwatching quite challenging today, as most birds seemed to be taking shelter.
80 bird species were recorded by 5pm, so they were there if you looked or listened. You could hear Cetti's and garden warblers, cuckoos and bitterns quite easily, but seeing them was a different matter altogether.
For many of today's visitors, the most easily seen birds were swifts. There were hundreds of them, zooming around all of the lakes, picking off the low-flying insects and sharing the skies with some hobbies. Lapwings and oystercatchers were in the field next to the car park, so they didn't demand much effort either. A few lucky visitors watched a marsh harrier with us, while others saw a little egret - both were seen from the car park.
Our common terns have begun incubating their eggs now, and some can be seen on the rafts that we've placed in some lakes especially for them.
Dragonflies, damselflies, demoiselles and butterflies could be found in sheltered, sunny spots, incluing a local speciality, scarce chaser dragonflies.