Another great day on the patch!

A 7.00 meet-up with Brian T at Strumpshaw was, as always, a pleasure: but the reserve's star birds put in an appearance and made it a great day. Cuckoo was, perhaps, not unexpected, but TWO Bitterns flying around together for five minutes was unusual, and a close-perched Kingfisher was a long-awaited photo-opportunity. The first Migrant Hawkers - a pair - graced the southern path.

The male Turtle Dove spent ages on the lawn this afternoon: what beautiful birds they are!