They are back!

 Saturday afternoon at Blacktoft helping Stuart. Lots of visitors enjoying the weather and the new hide. The marsh harriers were active and a barn owl was out hunting. Another sign of spring was the presence of coots, who leave the reserve during winter.

This afternoon, Monday, and time for a visit to the Lower Derwent Valley.

Bank Island was my first stop.

Lots of birds to be seen from the hide, but the hide is very small and a birder was sat in front of the right hand window, so I left the hide and looked at the birds through the screen. A long way away but I managed to see the tundra bean geese, tick number 108.

I then drove down to North Duffield Carrs and joined another birder in Garganey Hide.

 The water level was lower than my last visit, but the birds were fairly close . A peregrine was sitting on a post at the far end of the reserve and two marsh harriers flew over. I estimated that there were at least 150 whooper swans, over 100 shelduck and at least 50 pintail, too many wigeons etc to count.

 A pleasant afternoon.