The Arun Valley

Another gloriously sunny April morning. Made the 90 minutes drive to the Arun valley, arriving at Arundel WWT at 11am.

A busy Mallard. Two of the chicks were noticeably smaller, so may be from a different brood.

Male and female Tufted Duck.

I wish...... A captive Smew. Just too smart to be ignored.

One of several Coot chicks. Made me think of dinosaurs.

A marvellous Cetti's Warbler. My best ever view of this relatively common but usually hidden species. I love the way it holds its tail like a Wren. I also caught a glimpse of a Reed Warbler.

Displaying Sedge Warbler. Like Cetti's and Reed, this warbler is normally very secretive, but newly arrived males display in the open during early April.

Moorhen.

Teal.

Gadwall.

Canada Goose.

Pochard. The above species of waterfowl have clearly decided to stay on at the WWT to breed.

Brown Hare. Across the valley at the Burgh I saw at least five. Also on show were Red Kites, Linnets, Corn Buntings, Lapwing, a Kestrel and eight Buzzards.

A poor photo of a Grey Partridge. There were over a dozen of these birds about, plus a good number of Red-legged Partridge.

The Belle Tout Blue Rock Thrush at dusk, appearing to have settled down for the night. The diffuse light allowed the blue plumage to be really apparent. So pleased I managed to squeeze in a visit after the long drive back to Eastbourne. Sadly, there was no sign of this bird the next day, which means I was possibly the last person to see it.

Tawny Owl in Horseshoe Plantation. The icing on the cake of a great day.