12th April 2008

A pretty much full day around the Country Park, starting with a walk from the gullwatch (6.10am) to the visitors centre. At least 8 Willow Warblers were singing between the Marston Corner and the centre with a similar number of Chiffchaffs. A pair of Redshank were on the lawn in front of the centre briefly and there were 5 or 6 Linnets in the car park. Met up with the guided walk at 7.40am and we went to the sewage works, Stewartby lake and around the pillinge arriving back about 11am. Good scope views of a few of the Willow Warblers were obtained, reasonable numbers of Swallows and House Martins were seen over the sewage works and Stewartby lake, a pair of Teal flew in to Wetland 9 but a probable Osprey, seen only by one of the participants on the walk, would have been the highlight if only it had hung around.. After some lunch at the centre I walked to Millbrook station via the pillinge arrived at the station about 2.30pm. I then spend from 5.50pm to 7pm at the gullwatch but there as very little in the way of bird activity.

Rainclouds over the clubhouse in the early evening.