Thusday 23rd April and I decided, at the last minute, to re-visit Welney WWT - perfect weather for photography.

First stop was at the observatory hide - all seemingly quiet - but a couple of Barn Swallows flying around.

and a Great White Egret did a fly-past.

and then the Coot put on a display showing their usual argumentative selves at this time of the year.

With nothing else of interest, I moved up to Lyle hide but only a few Avocets were on offer

and then to Friends Hide where there was nothing at all. Very surprising as over the years, this has been a very productive hide for photography but not in the recent couple of years. Re-tracing my steps, my first Common Whitethroat of the year was singing but against the sun. 

Back at the obervatory hide, there was more action with Shelduck squaring up to each other

causing the Shovelers to get agitated

but finally settling down.

A lone drake Wigeon was feeding close in

and that was it so I left but still unable to resist a pop at the House Sparrows on the feeders

but sadly no Tree Sparrows again.

Taking the long way home, I drove around Dambanks at Aldreth, also once very productive but not recently. however, I noticed a Corn Bunting feeding close to the road, not as close as I would have liked but pleased with the results. Still, getting much rarer here now.

So, once again, it was a case of trying to get something different but at least the Corn Bunting was the icing on the cake for me.

What's showing at RSPB Fowlmere? Not the species that I wanted - like water Vole. Everyone else seems to be seeing them regularly but last Tuesday, after an hour and a half quietly walking up and down the chalk stream path, not a sign.

Still, my time on the reserve was not totally wasted with a small herd of Fallow Deer crossing the channel from Drewer Hide. First one showing and then jumping across

follwed by  the white hart

and what could be an immature.

I finally ended up, as usual, in Reebed Hide.The Marsh Harriers were both showing, on and off, but at least I manged a half-decent shot of the female this time.

So, good and not-so-good but isn't that the story of bird photography at the moment. Let's hope there is more activity from the summer migrants.

Well, we ended up at Weeting Heath but started the day at Mayday Farm again, at a different drinking pool but after a couple of hours and only seeing a distant Woodlark, we gave up and moved to Weeting Heath.

We hoped for close views of Stone Curlew but that did not work either - too distant and heat haze - so we spent the rest of the afternoon in the drinking pool hide where there was plenty of activity. Sunny conditions that, once again, presented the usual problems of light and shade but the first to show was a Blue Tit coming in to drink

followed by Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Great Tit.

There was even a pair of Chaffinches, now becoming very scarce in my county and even this one was showing evidence of Scaly Leg.

A Nuthatch was a regular visitor, collecting mud for the nest hole somewhere off the reserve.

and we even had a visit from a Mistle Thrush.

But the star of the show was a male Sparrowhawk that treated us to a quick visit and exit before checking us out from a nearby tree and then returning to drink.

So another enjoyable day in the Brecks.

Friday 10th April and a couple of friends and I decided to try Thetford Forest, an area that I had not visited for a couple of years or so. Weather sunny and dry. Sunlight is not ideal in wooded areas, in my opinion due to the heavy shadows but this was not a problem at our first port of call, Santon Downham.

An open area well known for Woodlarks was our start point and it was not long before a pair made themselves known to us although always keeping their distance.

After an hour or so, we moved on to Mayday Farm, a well forested area, where there is a small trackside pool that really attracts the birds to drink with a good selection, although photography was difficult because of the shadows. Still here is a selection (after some heavy editing) of some common bathing birds.

Great Tit, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit and Coal Tit.

Siskins were very noticeable

a pair of Lesser Redpolls (sorry I am not a subscriber to the latest BTO scheme of lumping Redpolls as one species)

Even a male Brambling made a surprise visit 

but the stars of the show, although not that co-operative were a small flock of Crossbills.

After lunch, we moved on to nearby Weeting Heath where a pair of Stone Curlews could just about be seen although never close enough for a shot so we moved on to the drinking pool with not much to show for the visit as the shadows were really problematic. A Blackcap showed well

and a species that was once common in Cambridgeshire but now quite scarce mainly due to Trichomonosis but this one showed signs of Scaly Foot.

but loads of other photos suffered the delete button due to the challenging light conditions. Still, a very enjoyable day with some acceptable results.

My last couple of visits to Grafham Water have produced zilch but, with a warm sunny day, I was headed there quite early - well early for me that is, arriving before 9.00am. Still Easter holiday time but my first port of call at the dam and no-one in sight.

No birds either except for a lone Herring Gull.

It was only after editing the photo at home, that I noticed that the tongue appeared to be protruding through the lower mandible, a condition that I have only seen once before in a Grey Heron in Romania. It is known as Sublingual Fistula but, not being an expert, I am hopeful that someone can confirm this or otherwise.

Further up the dam, things began to happen. Several Yellow Wagtails showed although flighty so patience was required.

A pair a Grey Wagtails fed on the water line for a time.

and a Pied Wagtail appeared in front of me, staying just long enough for a couple of shots.

A pair of Little Ringed Plovers were not so shy, giving great views.

But by 11.00 am the visitors appeared and the birds disappeared and despite visiting the lagoons, harbour and Mander Hide, I did not take another photo.

And the same for a walk around Stirtloe - nothing showing at all so I went home and cut the grass!!!