Today it was back to Blacktoft Sands again. It was once again lovely and sunny but with a bit of a breeze. As I left the car park and walked towards the Reception Hide, I could hear loads of small birds chirping in the trees. I’m pretty sure I also heard a warbler in the reeds; Spring is on the way!

Of the six hides at Blacktoft, my favourites are the the ones at each end of the trail – Ousefleet at the Western end (which is quite often wader-heaven), and Singleton at the Eastern end, which is always Marsh Harrier heaven!

I spent most of my visit at Singleton today and it certainly provided me with some good views of hunting Marsh Harriers.

Other highlights of the day from Singleton Hide were: a huge flock of Pochard (some 29 according to the official blog posted today), a few Snipe at the water’s edge nearest to me, and a few Mute Swans flying about overhead.

By the time I left Singleton Hide in order to make my way towards the other hides, the weather had begun to break-down. It was windy now rather than breezy, and a few rainclouds had begun to loom overhead. Of the five other Blacktoft hides, I briefly visited all but Ousefleet before heading back to the car. Ousefleet will have to be top priority on my next visit.