With thanks to volunteer Graham for his wildlife sightings report and photos.
Although a fair amount of rain was forecast for the morning I was pleased to find that it stayed dry for almost the whole of Sunday.
I soon reached Fattengates Courtyard where I put out some seed. The only companions I had during my short stay there were some hungry birds, including a smart male Chaffinch and a Great Tit.
Chaffinch
Great Tit
I proceeded to West Mead Hide where I joined a number of visitors, including one of our regulars, Paul. There was a good selection of bird species to be seen at fairly close range, including several Black-headed Gulls. Paul mentioned that he had visited the day before and had seen a Black-headed Gull eat three newts. Shortly afterwards I noticed that one of the Black-headed Gulls had caught something and had landed with it on the bank. I took a number of photos as it proceeded to eat its catch. A quick review of the images confirmed that it was indeed a newt.
Black-headed Gull
A number of Snipe were in view, including a group of three showing well on the nearest island.
Snipe
Viewable duck species included Pintail and Tufted Duck, and a single male Gadwall also swam within range for a while.
Pintail
Tufted Duck
Gadwall
In Adder Alley I stopped briefly to photograph a clump of Primroses sprinkled with raindrops in one of the scallops by the path.
Primroses
When I got to Hanger View Paul was already there. He had been looking for the regularly visiting female Peregrine in the Willows without success, but I said it was worth persisting with the search as this female seems to select a different perch with every visit. After a couple of minutes Paul spotted the Peregrine. We were able to get a slightly better view from the path towards Little Hanger.
Peregrine
After returning to Hanger View and sharing scoped views of the Peregrine and of some Gadwall and Tufted Ducks on the North Brooks with a few visitors, I moved on towards Nettleys Hide. I stopped briefly at the new viewpoint at the bend in the path to show a couple of visitors a selection of nearby ducks before continuing to the hide. From there I had hoped to re-find the Peregrine in the Willows, but she was not to be seen. I got talking to a first time visitor, a keen photographer. We both had the opportunity to get flight shots of a Buzzard and a Grey Heron that flew right past the hide .
Buzzard
Grey Heron
I advised him that West Mead was the best hide from which to get photos of a selection of birds at reasonably close range, so he decided go there. Before following after him I re-checked the Willows and saw that the Peregrine had returned. I was able to show her to three visitors before heading back to West Mead.
As I approached West Mead Hide I met a visitor who I had not seen since August last year when he spotted an Osprey while we were chatting on the Pig Run footpath. This time I asked him if he had found our resident White-tailed Eagles. He said he had not and I continued to the hide. However, only a few minutes later he came into the hide and pointed out one of the eagles flying fairly high to the south. The visitors in the hide enjoyed some good views before it flew away. I was also able to point out some nearby Snipe to several visitors and to get a final photo of a male Wigeon preening on the water .
Wigeon