Setting off a little later than usual, we arrive at Macdonalds for a pick-me-up coffee and a bite to eat at around 9.15am, before heading onto Mere Sands Wood in the morning sunshine, with not a cloud in the sky.
. Upon arrival we head straight to the Cyril Gibbons hide - a first stop which now seems to be customary. Not much was happening on this water at the time, a couple of Goldeneye, a rather large Crested Grebe and a brief appearance of a Kestrel, the first time we have spotted one at Mere Sands Wood. Unfortunately there was no sign of Ken (the Kingfisher).
We decided to move onto Rufford Hide and along the way we crossed paths with a great tit and a nuthatch moving through the woodlands, and heard the distant drilling of a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers. In Ruffard hide we saw our first Grey Heron at Mere Sands Wood, overseeing a nearby Little Egret who was fishing in the shallow marsh. However their mutual understanding was cut short by another little Egret who flew by, sending the previously settled Egret to another part of the marshlands. The only other sightings we made from Rufford Hide was a Teal (to be honest, only being mentioned as I realised I hadn't any good photos of a Teal, and I took the opportunity to snap a few), and a good spot of a Green Sandpiper, a rare visitor to Mere Sands Wood.
We then moved back to Cyril Gibbons Hide for one last gasp attempt at spotting Ken, having seen him from this hide in both of our two previous visits. Alas, it was not to be today, and we returned to the visitors centre wondering when we'll next see our old mate Ken. We had a quick 10 minutes at the feeders located behind the visitors centre and spotted a few Long-tailed tits, one of Mrs. B's personal favourites, before returning home for a late lunch.
Mr & Mrs. B.
