Nothing much about, too cold and wet am Sunday. In the afternoon Mark, Kirsty and Val Spotted a Redwing feeding on Cotoneaster berries with a thrush and blackbird. Large, barmy rat spent most of afternoon trotting unconcernedly back and forth over the main boardwalk and fossicking about in the Yellow flags despite close presence of humans. Very strange. Heavy weather has fetched down most of the glorious autumn leaves. No flowers left, and very few insects.
Kingfisher still about. Tony Russo does not feed the ducks any more, (except when his soft heart feels too sorry for them!) and an education campaign, though small, has deterred some Mums from letting their kids feed the ducks. It would seem that the duck numbers are a shade lower than usual for this time of the year. A great fat frog disturbed during harvesting hazel plantation put in the new bank veg 'compost heap', into which it burrowed with relish. Heron is back up the big Christmas tree regularly, and cursing all the Sunday workers in Heronese. Robin hungry and much in evidence, pestering anyone disturbing the ground for grubs and worms. Despite weather, there is still a little Autumn colour.
Wednesday Muntjac back in orchard. Thursday the Dabchick pair back on the Mere, one sculling about round the tunnel end of the Mere, the other flew in and got attacked by the Mallards, whence it hid in the bench Flag clump by the blockhouse. Kingfisher spent 3 hours fishing from Elder towards the tunnel end also, and caught 2 fish before flying away. 2 Redwings and a Kestrel flew overhead. The Male Mallard are fighting for dominance already, some of them showing signs of battle damage. Nearly all of the Autumn leaves have at last come down in a rush; the Mere is full of them, a floating cover for big areas. Duck have pulled some big lumps of Marsh marigold up by the roots, So salvaged them for planting as agreed when the bank 'defences' go in by the blockhouse bench area. Martin reports female Muntjac seen in the gardens in Ramsbury Road.