Volunteer John reports on his sightings from Friday
A cuckoo calling from Wiggonholt direction provided the first tick as I left the carpark and this was the accompanying soundtrack of the day with possibly three calling across the reserve. On the way to Hail's view commotion high in an oak tree alerted me to a great spotted woodpecker returning to the nest with food. Mallard, teal, shelduck and lapwing all showed on the South Brooks with a sparrowhawk perched distantly. A kestrel did what kestrels do and hovered obligingly by the bare oak while a crow scrambled to see off a common buzzard in a noisy encounter.Leaving Blackpond Wood the colour of the hazy bluebells deepened in the overcast morning light contrasting nicely with the green bracken under the stand of oak. By mid morning the bird song symphony along the zig zag path down from the Visitor Centre was in full swing with common whitethroat, greenfinch, blackbird, blackcap and song thrush all contributing. At Fattengates a willow warbler found its descending voice and seemed to add phrases before running out of breath.The white flowered five petaled stitchwort provided splashes of colour along the trail edge to West Mead where six lapwing chicks were on show - two close in by the islands. Two more chicks showed from Winpenny while six hobby dashed to and fro along the river by mid afternoon. A peregrine drifted high over the North Brooks from Hanger view and a nesting sedge warbler flicked in and out of the bramble in front of Nettley's hide. Two mandarin and an egyptian goose added an exotic twist while a slice of Kentish Apple cake in the cafe rounded off another good day.