I sat on a bench under a tree looking across to the island where the turtles were out basking in the sun. All of a sudden this bird appeared above me making this awful cooing noise like they do early in the morning. He sat there posing for me for quite some time. Obviously one of this years youngsters.
Summer captures around the lake are slowly diminishing and scenes of an early autumn are starting to appear. This picture was taken from the second bench. A view to the very far end of the lake shows some tall trees. Probably some of the very first to be planted here. I notice a change in the foliage and trees on every visit.
There are always many of these birds around a Ferrymoor Flash. Adults and Juveniles both can be seen flying around and swimming in the lake. The adult has a black head although it is really more of a chocolate colour. The Juvenile has a small black mark at the side of the head. They are sociable and noisy and tend to gather in groups.
Lots of these birds about at Ferrymoor Flash. This is a large heavy looking duck with a long body and a large broad bill. The male has a green head but this one is a juvenile so just a small portion of green showing now. The female is mainly all brown with an orange bill.
This bird was perched in a tree on the island. A large black waterbird whose size and colour make it very visible. It can often be seen standing with its wings spread out to dry off. They are supreme expert fishers and diving in to the water is their speciality.
A new bird made a visit to the reserve this week but only stayed for a couple of days. It is obviously a Domestic Goose of some kind that has now become feral. When I first spotted this bird it was sitting down on one of the islands and I though it was an Aylesbury Duck. But the next day it was a lot closer to observe.
There are many fallen trees around the lake most of them are on the edge of islands. This picture was taken from the second bench where many of the waders seem to gather. I spotted a Kingfisher perched on here a couple of weeks ago. Have you noticed how some of the trees are starting to turn colour? It is going to be a very early Autumn this year. I guess we have the greenhouse effect and climate change to thank for this.
Also known as the May tree the month in which the flowers appear. The pale green leaves appear first before the explosion of pale pink flow...
