After a busy couple of weeks, this was a welcome stroll around @wildlifebcn Summer Leys with her indoors. An early breakfast and off, travelling through sunshine but arriving slightly overcast - it didn't take long for the weather to catch us up.
As usual the first stop was the Pioneer hide. Good numbers of gadwall, lapwing and black-headed gulls. Three little egrets were sitting low in branches to the far left from the hide, heads out of view - a most unusual sight. A pair of male pochard we in front of them with one soon taking flight.
Out onto the reserve for a circuit and as soon as we cleared the hide we saw two green woodpeckers working their was along the trees - also lots of birds in small flocks as we went, joined by a solitary redwing.
From the feeder hide we saw lot of the usual garden birds, joined by quite a few reed bunting. However, if you want to get Charlotte excited about the birds she sees it can only be bullfinch and jays - the three bullfinches duly obliged.
Met a chap going the other way who gave details of where the red crested pochard could be found. Sure enough the short diversion yielded another tick for the year list (now #85), although views were distant and only allowed for a record shot.
From the next open hide good numbers of teal 
were foraging with yet more gadwall behind. Perhaps the most gadwall I've seen on one visit. Soon after we saw a grey heron low in flight and watched as he strolled into the water for a spot of fishing.
No sign of the great white egret that had been on-site recently; I suppose just another Saturday morning dip ... all too frequently birds seem to move as the weekend arrives.
Our 2 mile circuit complete I checked that there was nothing new from the Pioneer hide and set off home. Will be back in the spring to catch the migration and to catch up with my regular garden warblers at their usual spot.
Sightings (39) included: black-headed gull, blackbird, blue tit, bullfinch, buzzard, canada goose, carrion crow, chaffinch, common gull, coot, cormorant, dunnock, gadwall, goldfinch, great crested grebe, great tit, green woodpecker, greenfinch, grey heron, greylag goose, lapwing, little egret, long-tailed tit, magpie, mallard, moorhen, mute swan, pochard, red-crested pochard, redwing, reed bunting, robin, shelduck, shoveler, starling, teal, tufted duck, wigeon and woodpigeon.
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