Mandarin Duck #36

A gorgeous spring day with lots of lovely sunshine. We headed to Yarrow Valley to see if we could locate the dippers. No dippers were found anywhere, but then predictably it was very busy with people and lots of dogs. But we did find the pair of Mandarins that have bred there for the past few years. They were generally hiding in the reeds on Top Lodge after being shooed away by the resident male swan, Billy. 
When they did come out the sun was very harsh, but lit up their colourful plumage beautifully. I took lots of shots, but liked this one best. 

Back home in the afternoon I potted up my "30 free perennials" that came from T&M whilst we were out - a slightly different mix to last years, many of which were gifted to my parents and neighbours. I think I'll be keeping most of this years as I was quite generous with the spacing last year - too generous. These can plug some of the gaps I think. 

Edit: Tomorrow we were planning on going to The Wirral for a Plant Fair at Ness Gardens and then on to Parkgate to check for Owls later in the day. However, I have just been reading about a huge wildfire that has broken out today on the marsh near Parkgate which looks dreadful. That will be a large amount of wildlife habitat gone in an instant - so sad. As yet there doesn't seem to be any news about how it started.