Around and about in the lovely weather

[martin butterfield <>]

This morning I betook myself to explore the London Bridge area in preparation for the next Wednesday Walk.  There will be more on that later.  I then went to Tin Hut Dam and found a Male Musk Duck  - presumably the same one as reported recently by Robin Hide - very much in evidence.  He was shovelling water up in the air which I have always taken as display activity, but I couldn't see a female. Perhaps he was just keeping in practise?

I then came back to Kelly's Swamp and concur with Geoffrey Dabb's views from yesterday.  The vegetation in front of Ardea and Bittern hides is so lush even Swamp hens vanish from view. 

I then crossed the road to the poo pits where there was action a-aplenty.  Some waterfowl have returned to the ponds - I checked 1, 3 4 and 6.  The most surprising thing was the presence of approximately 40 Black Swans: I have only ever seen the odd family group before.  There was also a flock of Silver Gulls huddling in the corner of pond 4.  Pacific Black Ducks in numbers and a few Grey and Chestnut Teal and a lone Australasian Shoveller.  The grassy area between ponds 1 and 6 was buzzing with Golden-headed Cicticolas.  They didn't stay still so counting was difficult but I would estimate at least 12 in a fairly small part of the area.  (If anyone needs a snap of a cisticola they were posing very nicely, albeit briefly.)

Martin