Dreary Day at Wicksteed

I'm off for a few days and to kick things off I decided to head over to Wicksteed Park to see if the cold weather had brought some more wildfowl in. Unfortunately for me that meant a trip in the "wrong" direction on the X4. Now I'm a regular user of this service but sometimes I feel that the X stands for excrement and today was one of those days. A scheduled bus failed to arrive in the Old Village which resulted in a walk up to the town centre and the consequent loss of some time. Proving that this was not a fluke the return bus was at least quarter of an hour late too. Sometimes I think that the timetable should be regarded more as a very vague hint of what could conceivably happen rather than a genuine schedule of bus times. X4? more like the Vex 4.

A bit different to last week!

Once my ordeal was over I arrived at the park in rather sunny conditions though sadly this happy state of affairs was soon replaced by the gathering clouds and it was a dull and grey sky that hung over the rest of proceedings. Numbers of gulls were if anything lower than last week though that may be just as well considering last week's stringy escapades. Tufted Duck numbers seemed to have risen and they were joined by a few Pochards but other than this things were much as they were last week.

British rails, more reliable than the bus.

Around the fishing lake I found a Chiffchaff feeding in the waterside willows, perhaps it was the songster from last week. Attempts to get a photo were foiled by a loud altercation between two dog walkers which sent the Chiffy and just about everything else packing. One of the few other highlights around the lakes were several squealing Water Rails.

Colourful corvids.

While walking back towards the exit a Jay showed very well and allowed me to approach fairly closely, they normally fly off at first sight. Nearby a Mistle Thrush was keeping a close guard on a couple of Rowan trees and vanquished any Blackbirds foolish enough to try and steal some of its berries. At this point the threatened rain began to fall so I packed up my gear and headed off into town for some lunch.

Goose action and Mistle Thrush standing sentry.