Her indoors was off to play a tennis league match against Goring (in the afternoon) and so I had a leisurely morning and then lunch with my eldest. The day was set fair, although temperatures likely to be circa 13°C - there was to be little wind though.
The car park was busy again on arrival and the new parking scheme was still not up and running, so another freebee. Winsurfers adorned F2 and the "taxi drivers" watched on. I set off over the causeway, noticing that the water level is lower than it has been of late.
About halfway across I came across two dunlin feeding happily on the waters edge on the F2 side, not worried about the people already admiring them. I joined and took a few snaps. Ahead I could see someyhing right on the waters edge, about ¾ of the way across the causeway, this time on the F1 side. It turned out to be another dunlin.
I turned left round F2 and stopped to look at the mass of coot and great crested grebe - a couple watched on. On the rafts were black-headed, great-black backed and herring gulls.
I dropped fown to the river and immediately felt relaxed as I strolled along the bank in the sunshine - just so still. A couple of kayaks paddled by and as they did, a kingfisher flashed by, rising high to pass over the treetops toward Pinkhill.
A rather handsome kestrel sat in a tree, quite interested in what was happening below. Eventually looking my way I took a few shots - bit of kestrel photo weekend.
I heard cetti's warbler but on this ocassion I didn't have good views. A blackcap joined a flock of long-tailed tits feeding on the path back to the Pinkhill hide but nothing else showed.
I completed my visit with a circuit rounf F1 with only grey/pied wagtails and a handful of meadow pipit to show for it.
Sightings for today (34) included: black-headed gull, blackcap, blue tit, buzzard, carrion crow, cetti's warbler, coot, cormorant, dunlin, goldfinch, great black-backed gull, great crested grebe, grey heron, grey wagtail, greylag goose, herring gull, kestrel, kingfisher, lesser black-backed gull, little egret, little grebe, long-tailed tit, magpie, mallard, meadow pipit, moorhen, mute swan, pheasant, pied wagtail, red kite, robin, tufted duck, woodpigeon and wren.
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