Azziria's journal

One of the main assets of our not-particularly-large garden is the big sycamore tree at the bottom of it.

Our count was:

15 Starling
7 Goldfinch
5 Collared Dove
4 Wood Pigeon
4 House Sparrow
4 Chaffinch
2 Greenfinch
2 Blackbird
2 Blue Tit
1 Dunnock

If I'd done the count in the following hour, I'd have had no Goldfinches but 5 Black-headed Gulls (landing on our lawn to pick up bread).

The most notable thing for us is that there are far fewer Greenfinches this year - we're still not sure if it's a population thing, or if maybe our brand of seed is less attractive to them this year.

It's a glorious day out there - 17 degrees C in the shade, and a lot warmer in the sun.

Spent the morning up at Welney again (I'd have liked to go to the sea, but it's just a bit too far to be back by the time school gets out). It's so peaceful up there, I can almost feel the tension and stress draining out of me.

Best bird? Either the Marsh Harrier or the 21 Avocets (a drift of crisply glorious black-and-white across the lagoon in the sunshine). Although the male Ruff showing the first signs of his ruff coming in was pretty good too.

Most unusual bird? The Little Egret. We don't see them often this far North and inland. This one's been around for a couple of weeks, but I didn't see it last visit.

Most unexpected bird? The Great Spotted Woodpecker. The willows along the banks at Welney are barely more than bushes, so I didn't expect to see a woodpecker in them.

A lovely morning. I just wish I could have recorded the soundtrack to bring back with me - the wind in the reeds, the trumpeting of the swans, and the hauntingly strange 'peewit' cries of the lapwings. Perfect :-)