I had the great pleasure of accompanying a couple who had 'won' an auction at last years Birdfair at Rutland. My role was to give them a personal guided walk around the Wetlands Trail.
One of the advantages of an early start is the opportunity to spot wildlife before it retreats away from large numbers of visitors. It was because of this we watched in awe as the lesser spotted woodpecker availed himself of the peanuts in our bird feeder station next to Heron Corner. Brilliant views but no camera!
The bridleway yielded more treasures; blackcaps, wrens, chiffchaffs, goldcrests - the sunshine had certainly brought the birds out.
More was to come - we had walked about halfway around the Wetlands trail (clockwise) when we were surprised by a hare running along the opposite bank to us, no more than 10 metres away. This was followed by another hare, then another and another. Five hares in total, running what looked like laps around the middle pools! Incredible sight and totally unexpected.
See you on the reserves,
Best regards,
Chris Edwards