4th June '09 Attenborough Nature Reserve

Warm, cloudy, very slight breeze.

Attenborough Nature Reserve.

All craft this way please.

I thought I would try this new layout for a change. I wasn't going to venture out today, I've still got another coat of paint to put on the garage, but I thought 'what the hell, the garage isn't going anywhere'. It turned out to be a very rewarding trip. First I identified by sound then confirmed by sight a Blackcap, then I saw a Kingfisher as it swept across the Delta Hide Pond, and finally I nearly trod on a family of a gamebird I couldn't identify in thick undergrowth. I even managed to get a half decent photo of one of the young ones. I think there were at least 3-4 juveniles along with both parents. The adults when flushed. rose barely above the level of the undergrowth, then landed only yards away, followed by the juveniles who could only run after them. It was quite strange at first, seeing the dense undergrowth moving and not knowing what was causing it until one of the adults showed itself. Its distinctive markings on its back clearly visible, the way they flushed and the markings on the back looking very much Snipe yet the young were clearly almost Quail like.
On my way back I met Lou on the viaduct. He was looking at a family of Mallards below. Strangely all the young were diving to feed and not dabbling as is normal. How strange is that?
Looking downstream over the River Trent.

Kingfisher, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Garden Warbler, Common Tern, Blackcap.