Early sunshine on Easter Sunday morning and all the birds were singing...

a beautiful Chiffchaff...

a male Blackcap...

and a long tailed tit...

The usual pair of swans have returned to the main pool and have been busy building their nest...

while volunteers have been building a Sand martin nesting box...

And now its the turn of the toads!

Dodged the heron... and arrived!

Spring has sprung ... birds are singing and collecting nesting material... frogs and newts are making their way to the pools and a Heron is taking the opportunity for a feast...

Some amorous frogs...

result!... Yes, frog spawn is starting to appear...

A Little Grebe seen on the scrape...

a heron on the main pool...

and bright Celandines, a sign of Spring...

Storm Doris passes through...

and leaves its mark...

Its all about FOOD!

Flocks of Canada Geese have taken to grazing on the meadow .... and retreating to the river...

A Robin looking for worms at the edge of the car park...

A Water rail seen feeding among the cut reeds with a pair of Mallards....

A Reed Bunting feasting on reed seed heads...

A Redwing taking advantage of the peace and quiet while the carpark is closed...

One of ten Shoveler ducks seen visiting the scrape area today...

A female Grey wagtail ...

and a Pied wagtail,  both looking for food under the ice in the soggy south meadow  ...

while the Reed Bunting keeps his feet warmer looking in the reed heads...

A Bullfinch enjoying the fruits of the hedgerow this morning...

and the Snipe were feeding in the mud while the Stonechat in front of them is on lookout...

A wintery river bank...

Smile for the camera! A Goldfinch looking very smart in the winter sunshine...

A dusting of snow on some logs...

and a Meadow pipit in the meadow...

meanwhile a Heron is fishing and watching over a group of Black-headed gulls on the scrape...

but gulls are not always just gulls... while most of the group were Black-headed gulls, the picture below shows that in fact two of the group were Common gulls (they have yellow legs) and one is a juvenile Herring gull (larger and brownish)...

A New Year and the Winter sunshine lights the main pool...

while the Water rail tiptoes across the ice...

A Waterail paddling on the edge of the pool again...

and the female Stonechat posing for her picture...

A frosty start today...

sees the Mistle Thrush enjoying the Mistle berries...

and so is the Blackcap...

while a Fieldfare keeps his distance...

Its all about camouflage!

A Reed Bunting in winter feathers on a Common Reed...

Spot the Snipe in this picture sitting in the reeds while keeping a beady eye on me...

And here is a female Bullfinch, spotted this morning on the back hedge enjoying some late blackberries...

and even her partner, having a doze, is not out of place, as he looks a bit like a colourful autumn leaf from a distance... 

A female Stonechat spying out the land...

the willow heron, restored to its place at the edge of the main pool...

and an iridescent Kingfisher stands out in the dull undergrowth...