Male Teal

Jorgie went off to work this morning to give me a free day.
The weather forecast was for sunny spells and cloud. 
Turned out to be a single short sunny spell with lots of cloud.

I first drove to Dart's Farm and then walked to Bowling Green Marsh but the RSPB hide was closed. Lots of birds on the marsh and very frustrating not to be able to get a clear view but enjoyed the cacophony of honks and whistles from the geese and ducks
Cut my losses and walked back to the car (in the one sunny spell)
Dart's Farm was absolutely rammed.
Before leaving I decided to investigate the bird hide there. Nothing much in the reeds at all but speaking to one of the fishermen, I learnt that a pond near to home, is very good for Kingfishers. I'll investigate soon.
By now it was lunchtime and I hadn't taken a single photograph :-/

A slow drive home took me up through magnificent beech trees but the light was so dull I decided to just keep moving.

Not wanting the day to be a total washout I headed to Stover which was also rammed with people. Usually, weekday afternoons are quiet but during this lockdown, everyone is out and about.

There really wasn't much to look at as I walked the circuit so eventually I sat down and watched the world go by.

The little Teal was being mobbed by Coots and Blackheaded Gulls but they didn't succeed in driving him away.
While he posed on his log, I also watched a  young rat, scurrying out from the bushes, to pick up the crumbs and seeds not eaten by the birds, no more than 3 feet from me