Is it spring yet? Snow.

Last week's flooding has thankfully receded, leaving the car park and most paths clear if a little muddy. For some sections you do still need wellies to get by, notably the stretch between the Busway and Coucher Hide, the south-west corner of Drayton Lagoon and the south-east corner of Ferry Lagoon.

That said, there is plenty to enjoy on the reserve right now so don't let a bit of splashing and squelching put you off if you're still able to get around.

Last weekend great crested grebes and goldeneyes were displaying determinedly even as the snow came down thick around them.

Bright flocks of goldfinches are still decorating the teasels in front of the car park. Watching them on Sunday I was reminded of this fantastic photo taken by Barry Starling back in January - there was very little difference to the view as I stood there two months later!

Image: goldfinches by Barry Starling

Kingfishers near the drains have been delighting a lot of visitors lately. It's well worth keeping an ear out for their high-pitched call (follow the link for a recording) when strolling along the Busway as you can often hear them a moment before they flash in and out of sight.

The lakes themselves have been full of life since the flooding. There have been lots of pintails, black-tailed godwits, lapwings and golden plovers around - try looking out across Ferry Lagoon from the shelter on the north shore - and a pair of smew on Drayton Lagoon on Sunday. Two oystercatchers have been hanging out on the tern rafts on Moore Lake, one of my favourite birds with their long carroty beak, striking black and white plumage and pink legs.

Image: oystercatchers by Steve Dobromylski

While checking the riverside path I startled a muntjac deer and got an unusually good view of this woodland skulker before it disappeared back into the undergrowth. They're the UK's smallest deer, introduced to some parks here early last century. Escapees established wild populations and you might even come across them in your garden occasionally depending where you live. If you hear a loud barking call out and about on the reserve that could well be one.

Image: barn owl by Steve Dobromylski

And finally remember to keep an eye out for the barn owl to the fields alongside the first bit of the entrance track, between the public road and the bailey bridge. Seeing it quartering the field is often the final highlight of a visit to the reserve.