A walk round the lake edge looking for damselflies drew a blank but a very showy Orange-tip provided excellent photo opportunities.
The first Cuckoo of the year was then heard calling north of the lake and whilst scanning for it a large raptor was picked up which I quickly realised was a Marsh Harrier. To my amazement it dropped down and started to quarter the reedbed and also perched up in a dead tree on the side of the lake, although the local Crows weren't too happy and were repeatedly mobbing it until it eventually headed off south.
As I walked round the lake to try to locate the Cuckoo, I picked up another raptor high in the sky which quickly materialised into a Hobby which was busily feeding on insects high up before eventually flying overhead across the lake and off east.
A second Cuckoo then started to call in the wood behind the lake and with some patient stalking I eventually caught a brief view of it flying between the trees, so what at first had appeared to be a quiet day had gone on to produce four new birds for the patch this year.
Also of note were two drake Mandarins asleep amongst the trees and a second Mute Swan had arrived from somewhere so hopefully it will hit it off with the resident bird which spent most of last year on its own.
