Monday 7th.February 2011

With three days working in front of me , I made an early start this morning arriving at Sevenoaks Reserve just after it had got light , spurred on by the report of a second Bittern on site . Just in the time it took to drive from home , the wind had strengthened considerably , and once again it was going to make birding difficult . I went straight to the hide where the new bird had been seen , and on the way found one of the Siskin flocks , this time lower down in the trees , but that wind meant that focusing on them was almost impossible as they swayed on the ends of branches . Constant scanning of the reedbeds proved fruitless and the only excitement was the noisy arrival of two Egyptian Geese . Getting cold , I walked to the fields beyond the Long lake in hope of finding the Barnacle Geese , but that was fruitless too . I was cheered by a Song Thrush letting all and sundry know that he thought Spring was around the corner . Heading for the other Bittern hide around the other side of the main lake , which almost had 'white horses' out in the middle , I stopped off at the Tower hide , finding a small group of Teal feeding almost directly outside . I found a Tree Creeper heading for the last hide , but it didn't want to pose in the wind .
No Bittern sighting there either and not even a Water Rail , just Wrens and the friendly Robin . Following a different path back , I found the first Daffodils of the year in bud , and on checking on the Scarlet Elf Cups , found that they had opened up well since the last visit , even if not looking as vibrant as before . I decided to go back to the first hide before leaving , but everything was as per last visit , with the exception of a mixed flock of Greylag and Canada Geese , feeding in a sheep field away in the distance . I checked the Canadas , which they all were , but in doing so , found two little white bundles behind them , the first lambs that I have seen this year . Looking through the flock , there were 6/7 lambs that I could see , probably more out of sight .
Heading home for lunch , the sky got greyer , drizzle started to fall , which kept on till almost 3 o'clock , when the wind dropped and the sun came out , the prelude to another frosty day's hedgelaying tomorrow .