The weekend started with meeting up with the very knowledgeable birder Neil Burt (See Neil’s Twitter Page) at Conningbrook Lakes.
Regret to say that whenever you arrange to meet someone the weather’s bad, but the rain eased at 7.45pm and we had a look at the Little Egrets coming in to roost on the Eco Lake – 10 came.
Unfortunately the light was not good enough to take photos but it was a most enjoyable evening and I gained much knowledge from Neil.

Slow Worm at Conningbrook. A Warden reckoned this is about one year old

On Sunday I thought I’d try to walk over to the Lakes via the fields and footpaths down the Lane. A slightly crafty short cut enabled me to walk at good pace in just 20 minutes, a total of 1.2 miles to the Eco Lake rather than 1.42 from the Car Park.
Although a pleasant afternoon the only sound of smaller birds was from within the heavy leaved trees, but I did come across a Slow Worm and enjoyed just sitting in peace for half an hour by the northern lake.

       
Common Blue – Greater Spotted Woodpecker – Spotted Flycatcher

On my way back I went more the proper route. The footpath overgrown in many places did exhibit lots of Butterflies and Damselflies.

The rest of the afternoon was spent pottering around the Garden with Camera at the ready should anything arise. This worked well as a Juvenile Blackbird sat on the Garden Shed roof and devoured a couple of Blackberries all be it he or she needs to get her technique right and follow our Mum’s demands of ‘eat smaller pieces or you’ll choke’ ! All part of the learning process.