BLUEBELLS, BIRDS, AND MORE

An early walk in Bolton Abbey Woods, which lasted over four hours. Amongst other things we were halted by a male Mandarin Duck, Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, Nuthatches, Wood Warblers, and a Roe Deer. The Mandarin or the deer nearly won the blip choice but in the end I decided on the bluebells as that is what I set out to see, and the other blips were lovely extras.

One sight I wish I hadn't witnessed was a Herring Gull swooping on Mallard ducklings and eventually plucking one from the water. He took it to a nearby rock and swallowed the poor thing head first. The parents put up a chase but they were never going to win. No wonder Mallards start off with a dozen ducklings and end up with so few.

Apart from that it was an excellent morning and I hope you all had a good one too.