A Roe on the Water (No boat needed)

Easter, but also the first Sunday of the month and so volunteer day, four people turned out and we had a significant job to do. A hole and I mean a hole, the kind you could drop down into, had opened up at the side of the path beside the Dockens Water. It took four trailer loads of stone to fill it and I am still not sure how it got there in the first place, although I suspect the river water has got in somewhere to scour out the earth, although it is not clear where.

During the afternoon I went over to the Tern hide, the usual Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Lapwing were there, but nothing unusual, until a Roe Deer came into view swimming from left to right in front of the hide. I suspect it had been spooked from near the roadside and jumped into the lake in panic. However they swim well and it quite quickly made it to the long shingle bank to the east of the hide and ran off.
Birds of note were generally few, a Red Kite and a Hen Harrier were reported and I finally caught up with a Willow Warbler. The Woodland still has some Brambling and Redpoll but numbers of birds at the feeders are dropping fast.

A number of flowers are out now, as well as the Wild Daffodils, Common Celandine and Moschatel are to be seen along the Dockens Water woodland. On the edge of the Lichen Heath the tiny white flowers of Common Whitlowgrass dot the ground

The minute white flowers of Common Whitlowgrass, the whole plant is only about 3cm high!

Moschatel, or Town hall Clock, the flower heads are four-sided with another on top.

The brilliant yellow flowers of Celandine open in bright sunshine.

I was hoping to be reporting on moths tomorrow, I put the trap out, but when I was travelling home I realised I had forgotten to put it on, so no moths. Serves me right for trying to make plans.