North Cave

 First outing for over a week as I slowly get over a dose of covid. I only walked just over 2 miles and was glad to be able to rest in the 5 hides.

Just after 9am when I arrived and I was able to park near the entrance. There is a little blackboard on the side of the "butty van" and a birder was entering details on it. A restart was still present in the North hedge, so if I managed to see it it would be a year tick. My first stop was the East hide. Not a lot of birds on the water, a few lapwings standing at the waters edge and lots of greylag geese.

There were more greylag geese to be seen from the turret hide along with several green sandpipers. As I walked along the path towards the north hedge, a birder was walking in the other direction and told me where to look to see the redstart. I heard a sedge warbler in the vegetation on my left

I joined another birder who was stood to the right hide side of the north hedge watching the redstart. The bird was moving from a branch on a bush to an umbellifer and onto the ground. I was able to watch the bird for a few minutes before it went out of view.

I walked back to the path and walked back along the path towards the next hide. I did not see the redstart again but there were lots of small birds in the hedge, A family of warblers, dunnock, reed bunting and a yellow wagtail. The water level in front of the hide was lower than on my last visit which provided plenty of space for lapwings and starlings.

As I reached the end of the north hedge path and turned left, I could hear lots of noise from the bushes and saw a family of blackcaps. Not many birds to be seen or heard as I walked along the path towards Dryham Lane. From Crossland hide I could see lots of mute swans and more greylag geese.

South hide was my last stop and from where I could see lots of pochard, including a red crested pochard. Little grebes were active, chattering to each other

A family of mute swans were on the water and the parents were guarding the 5 cygnets very closely, even though they are a fair size. A black swan came a bit too close and was chased and attacked by the male swan.

As I walked back to my car, it started to rain, so I drove home.