Delights of the day...

The main pool carpeted with a layer of green duckweed...

a Little egret hoping for a look in...

but a Heron plays, 'I'm the king of the castle'...

and a delicate Holly Blue butterfly suns itself on the path...

A Wren collecting food for her family...

and Azure Damselflies creating symmetry with reflections ...

Goldfinch in a willow sapling today...

A Starling in the sunlight...

A female Common Blue Butterfly on a sheltered path in the meadow...

It's ladybird season down the meadow...

One of the emerging Mayflies populating our riverbank today ...

A male Red-eyed Damselfly guarding his lily pad ...

Large Red Damselfly on the riverbank today...

A lovely sunny day with lots of micro life going on....

A pair of Azure Damselflies...

A male Banded Damoiselle...

An Ashy Mining Bee...

An Early Bumblebee...

and a hoverfly...

At the moment you can often hear the male Cuckoo calling...

you probably know his call - he sounds like this...

Male Cuckoo - Male Cuckoo song

but the female sounds very different - a rich bubbling chuckle - listen out for her too...

Female Cuckoo - Female Cuckoo song

Cow Parsley...

Cow Parsley and Buttercups...

and a fast retreating fox...

The meadows are full of yellow meadow buttercups...

a pair of cuckoos were flying about and calling...

and one coot family have young...

Whitethroats join the chorus on the back hedge ...

while a pair of Little Ringed Plover are hanging around the scrape...

It's a cold North wind but... in sheltered places,

 Moorhen young are mooching in the ditches...

and Chiffchaffs are chirping in the hedgerows...

Sedge Warblers have arrived and are singing in the reeds...

Lady's Smock coming up in the meadow...

and a Coot... looking good!

Male Smooth Newt ... swimming in a ditch...

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...