Fen Drayton Lakes

Mrs L was going to the hairdressers then the washing machine man was coming round, so it was just me & RCB today. I started out at Hitchin to hear a Quail sing, but it wasn't there or was sulking because it was raining, so decided to have an investigate of RSPB's Fen Drayton Lakes reserve, a new one for me.

It's a rather large unmanned reserve with around eight lakes. I knew there was a Little Gull around, but as this was a bit unplanned, I'd no idea where, so just chose a path that would take in three of the lakes and went for a wander. Surprisingly it wasn't the lakes that provided the greatest interest, but the trees and undergrowth that were just alive with birdsong. So for a lot of the time it was hunt the singing bird, mostly unsuccessfully which was frustrating but somehow enjoyable. I'd virtually given up on the Little Gull until I came to a gate that overlooked Moore Lake and for the first time got the telescope out and hey, guess what, RCB got his First Summer Little Gull. This is a reserve that deserves more time and better planning - I'll be back, there's still a lot of elusive singing birds to be tracked down.

Today's photo a Whitethroat, one of today's less elusive birds.