Owls and Stonechats!
Owls and Stonechats We started the day at 11:10am with a visit to the Discovery Hide but didn't see much other than the usual winter waterfowl. We then ventured on the long path to the Ron Barker Hide. We arrived at the hide and first viewed the ground floor before heading upstairs. There were many Greylag Geese, Northern Lapwing and Common Shelduck in the lake as well as a few Little Grebes in a nearby ditch filled with water. I then arrived at the second floor, which serves as a higher viewing platform for the lake. There were two people talking about a European Stonechat they'd seen. Since I'd never seen a European Stonechat, I politely asked them if I could see it. Luckily, they let me see through their scope; which was pointed at a male European Stonechat singing and dancing on top of a bush, doing its mating call. They also pointed out the Little Grebes in the ditch as well as the Great Egret that was on the bank of another ditch. I then set off to the other side ...