Somerford Keynes, Cotswold Water Park :: 01 May 2011

Not really a day out birdwatching but instead lunch with family. Great to be having lunch and looking out over the water just along from the Cotswold Water Park; watching the coots with their young, moorhen, housemartin, swallows, canada geese, mute swans, mallard, black headed gull, carrion crow, blue tit, goldfinch, blackbirds, starlings and song thrush. A pair of binocs and a camera to hand we relaxed and took in the view. Then onto the water landed rather an odd looking duck which on later review turned out to be red-crested pochard. In the skies we also spotted a pair of birds which from the photos turned out be hobby. Two new species in one day.

Out for a walk after a delicious lunch and we came across a mallard family, then tufted ducks, great crested grebe, common tern, wood pigeon, dunnock, sedge warbler and this time a pair of red-crested pochard.

A great way to spend the day and still get in a little birding.