Thanks to volunteer Graham Osborne for his report and photos from Sunday.
A brief view of the South Brooks from the Visitor Centre produced a distant red kite and a good number of Lapwings. I then met Rob at the Yurt where he showed me a merveille du jour moth that had been trapped overnight. it's name translates to 'marvel of the day'.
I caught up with Neil, and at the gate near West Mead he found a merlin perched reasonably close to the hide. Unfortunately, it only stayed there briefly before flying off. From the hide itself the merlin could be seen on top of a distant post.
At Winpenny Hide we had long-range views of three ruff associating with lapwings, but no sign of the merlin. At closer range a stonechat provided some nice views.
After moving to the North Brooks we shared some raptor action with a number of visitors, initially from Hanger View and then from Nettley’s Hide. A red kite spent most of the time perched on a post providing a good scope target. A peregrine flew into the willow, where it stayed for some time before making a couple of forays, during one of which it engaged with a second peregrine. I personally missed this particular action, but I did manage to grab a few flight shots of one individual.
A juvenile marsh harrier was also present, and as usual its slower flight made it an easier target.
Janet joined us at Nettley’s, but there was no sign of the kingfisher on this occasion. On return to the Visitor Centre, brief views of a roe deer and a cattle egret on the South Brooks provided a satisfying finish.