The Bird hide is taking shape.

Pupils from the Kings Academy have been helping out with the carving on the Bird Hide's sleepers.












Birds that can be seen in the Dell have been carved in relief onto both sides of the sleepers. Here's an Owl and a Kingfisher.











Today a rare bird has been spotted around Gunnergate Lake. The bird is a Night Heron, a smaller cousin of the Grey Heron that we normally see down there. The bird has rings on it's legs so it might be that it is an escapee from someone's collection. Hopefully the rings will be identified and then we will know if it is a true wild bird or not. Whatever it's status it is still a great bird to see , last seen having a nap up a tree on the island on the lake.

Spring

A couple of weeks back Chiffchaffs had arrived, this week there was a lot of Blackcaps around the Dell. My highlight of the week was a Great Spotted Woodpecker, it was on the old decaying stump near the Frogspawn Bridge and I managed to get within feet of it as it chiselled out the wood looking for it's food, if only I had taken my camera that day !
The Heron seems to be spending a lot of time around the big lake, I've seen it every day that I have been down the Dell and managed to get a photograph of it when it was feeding just near the island. It didn't notice me hid in the bushes !!

If you have been around the lake in last couple of days you can't have missed the carving on the birdhide. I'll put some pictures up soon.