1st day of proper spring and the weather forecast was better than reported so we were overdresssed with sweater and fleece; could have gone round in a T-shirt today ! There were plenty of species on offer and even three views of Cetti's Warblers, however, very difficult to get on camera when they only stay for seconds and much of the time hidden amongst the twigs and reeds. I did get eyes on one for around 20 seconds but decided to enjoy the view of this Cetti's with binoculars rather than risk missing it by fiddling with camera settings. There were quite a few Reed Buntings and a few lucky people saw a pair of Bearded Tits by Marsh Covert hide (these Beardies arrived last October for the first time at Burton Mere wetlands and it appears that they have stayed). Someone else saw a Merlin fly over but it was long gone by the time we tried to lock on to it. There are now 71+ Avocets, most in front of main reception. There were Shovelers, Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Ducks, L.Egret and Lapwings. Chiffchaffs were singing their name, Dunnocks were also in full song and Grey Herons were flying back and forth to nesting/roosting sites. Two common Buzzards were in the air along with many Black-headed gulls making use of the warm air and diving down to the surface of the pools to grab insects. You felt like spring had finally sprung and although I didn't bother taking many photos this time I did get a few Heron and Buzzard shots and a few others........
I really like photographing Grey Herons, they are lovely to watch in flight ..........
Common Buzzard ....
and a metal bird that may be in danger of becoming extinct if Airbus and Brexit has anything to do with it .........
these carry the wings and spare parts for the A380
Dunnocks were singing everywhere
Several Reed Buntings around the reserve
More Reed Buntings in the reed beds ....
There were also Linnets, Chiffchaffs although I could only get a record shot of a Chiffchaff and this distant shot of a Linnet
Blue Tits were eager to get nesting ...........
this Blue Tit found a lovely nesting hole in a tree trunk (you can see it on the left)
There were plenty of insects too; here is a Peacock Butterfly
and a Brimstone Butterfly
and a few paddle steamers on one of the meres ....................