A morning at Hatfield Forest

If the weather had been nicer you may have got more than just another trip to the forest but the weather turned wet so I decided to have a relaxing afternoon at home.

Anyway the forest. On my last trip I reported some good news and bad news. The good was that it looked like we would have TWO pairs of terns and the bad being that it looked like one of the Grebe pairs had failed.

Well I have good and bad news again, the bad being that a Swan has taken up residence on one of the tern rafts (pity the National Trust did not make te raft Swan proof) and the good that there were two Grebes with young. I think one of the male grebes did a runner as on my last visit there were only three, although there were 4 today there was only one pair.

Anyway if you look closely....



Clearer here....


Some young Mallards



Greylag with chicks.









At the North West End of the lake a Buzzard was getting harrassed.






A tern with fish (not great photos)







Also Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common and Lesser Whitethroat, Cuckoo, Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker, finches, tits and Tufty Ducks.

Ducks and Warblers

My mate Dave was came down today and we went a twitching a Savi's Warbler at the Lee Valley. We heard it but that's it we did see a Cuckoo and had good views of a Garden Warbler. I'm obviously not a twitcher since I left Dave staring at reeds and went for a wander and saw a Nightingale (well I saw it fly!).Oh and we saw a fox.

Dave and had enough so after breakfast we headed to Rye Meads and for me a patch tick 6 Eygptian Geese!!

Mr and Mrs Tufty



Lots of warblers singing including this Garden Warbler.





Pochard


We had a fly through Cuckoo and my first Hobby of the year. We then went for lunch and decided to head back for another crack at the Savi's - no! There were lots of young around, obviously young mallards but this young Coot.


And some young Canada's and these young Greylag.


Pleasant day.

A day out.

There is something wrong here, scratches chin AH its a Bank Holiday weekend and the sun is shining!!

Anyway Dad and I went to the small town of Brightlingsea which is on a tidal river estuary.











Birds in flight with a travel lens ? Not ideal but we make do with what we have eh.








Ah cute!










I did have an ulterior motive for going to Brightlingsea, it contains the one Essex church in my list I had yet to tick. I thought it was meant to be open today but it wasn't however a quick call to the Vicar and we have....

747 All Saints, Brightlingsea












There's a commemorative frieze around the church commemorating everyone from Brightlingsea whose died at Sea since 1873. One was on the Titanic.

Library Cat

For the past two years a Kent library has had an almost daily visit from Fidel an 8 year old cat rescue cat.

Fidel spends the day on his favourite blue chair and only leaves of an evening when he sees his owners returning home.

Apparently staff never encourage Fidel with food and in the past used to be him back outside but he always came back in.

According to a spokesman from Kent County Council sometimes Fidel can be found waiting at the front door before staff had arrived.