This afternoon, I spent a couple of hours at the Rising Sun Country Park. The weather was still unseasonably warm, however there were signs of autumn, with many of the trees starting to shred their summer coat of leaves. After a relaxing walk around Swallow Pond, I sat for a while in the public hide. I was rewarded with very close views of two Water Rails, feeding on the mud with some Mallards and Moorhens. Elsewhere on the pond, there was Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck and a couple of Shovelers. There was no sign of any Pochard or Geese today.
Next was a walk to the Pit heap, where I found a Grey Wagtail next to one of the pools, which was quite a surprise, as it is a bird I don’t often see at the Rising Sun. There were also a couple of Comma’s, which happens to be my favorite butterfly.
Lots of exercise and some of my favourites.
Paul Buskin