A couple of local trips.

I woke up Thursday morning feeling very grotty but when the weather man said it would be a sunny and warm spring day I came out of wimp mode and headed off out with the camera to Brandon Marsh.

It was a bit dull when I got there but it was warm for a change.I headed to the west marsh pool first which was a good move as it happened because almost immediately I saw the Bittern fly in from the left and drop into the reeds.Like a good birder I sent a text to Birdguides but while I was doing it the Bittern flew off and I only managed this crappograph.

On the walk to the other hides I did spot a flock of Bullfinches but struggled with the light to get a decent shot.

From the other hides all I saw of note were the pair of Pintails which were out in the middle of the East Marsh pool.

By this time I had slipped back into wimp mode and was feeling grotty so I headed off home which was a shame as it was turning out to be a warm and sunny spring day.

This morning I set out to Marsh lane were I thought I'd have a go for the Jack Snipe which friends had told me that earlier in the week had been "Out in the open by the Oak hide for well over an hour"

I went straight to the Oak hide but friends there told me the Jack Snipe had not showed for a couple of days now.We did see 10 Common Snipe in the Marsh but no Jack.However I was pleased to see my first Oystercatchers of the year when a couple flew in from the right.

We did study this Gull for a while and thought it was a juvenile Herring Gull.My contribution to the conversation was nil as I struggle with juvenile Gulls.

The only other interesting thing we spotted from the Oak hide was this LBB Gull which caught a decent size fish and very much upset his mate.

From the car park I witnessed  a distant but lengthy battle between some Crows and a Common Buzzard.Pity they weren't a lot closer so I could have got some decent shots.