It was a hazy, humid and overcast morning today, with a light westerly breeze as I drove into the visitors centre car park

There had been a lot of publicity on the local television earlier this week regarding the first Spoonbill family to have settled on the reserve and had a family, that chick has just recently flown but staying with its parents for the time being. I was a little apprehensive this morning with more visitors being on the site than usual especially with this extra publicity, fortunately the Spoonbill traffic went along the Coal Tip footpath, quite a distance from where the Pick up hide is situated, although I did see a few more visitors than normal asking for directions from the hide.

I settled in to the hide at around 9.30am this morning, I could see a Grey Heron on the far side of the lake quietly feeding in the shallow water, closer to the hide were several moorhen families with their young, what was interesting to see was that several juvenile moorhens were feeding the chicks too, something I had never seen before. A pair of Mute swans flew onto the lake and spent thirty minutes preening and wing flapping before flying off towards the ‘Lyn dyke hide’. Black headed gulls were regular noisy visitors on the lake this morning, once or twice they dive bombed the Grey Heron. 

On the fence posts to the right of the hide a Buzzard perched itself and sat there for a good ten minutes before flying off towards the visitors centre. A pair of noisy Oystercatchers flew over the hide heading for the Heronry and, there was a constant stream of Cormorants all flying over heading towards ‘Lyn Dyke’. 

The feeders to the right of the hide were busy this morning, the young Moorhen kept scavenging under the feeders and taking food back to the water’s edge to feed their younger chicks. Great Tits were regular visitors this morning along with the Chaffinch, it was good to see a Willow Warbler there today also. Young Dunnocks were busily singing in the bushes and Long Tailed Tits too, their distinctive high pitched shrill quite audible from behind the hide, they seem to congregate there first before hitting the feeders, so to speak. Several pairs of Chaffinch were busily feeding their chicks, though some of the chicks looked much bigger than their parent so obviously they were doing a good job.

Still no sign of the Sand Martins this year, I cannot now really imagine them returning this year, although if the weather stays favourable there is still the possibility that they could open up some of their nesting holes, time and weather will tell. 

A pair of Grey Squirrels were active on the feeders this morning, along with a rabbit who was busily hoovering up the spoils left by the squirrels. Nearer to the hide at ground level were a pair of Bank Voles which kept popping out from their nest under the fence.

Graham Breeze ( whom I photographed Kingfishers with at Tophill Low reserve last week) popped into the hide this  morning, tapped me on the shoulder and promptly showed me a selection of photographs he had taken a few minutes earlier of a Bittern, from the ‘Broad Walk Trail’ just round the back of the hide. These are relatively rare birds here at Fairburn, although you occasionally hear their ‘Booming’ call but seeing them is another matter, though this fella was quite a poser, alas, needless to say by the time I arrived it had disappeared deeper into the reed beds. It is certainly great to see so close at hand all be it on someone else’s camera, let’s hope it makes it home here at Fairburn.