A Lie-in and a Short Boat Trip

Not fancying another early start I had a lie-in and then went exploring in the village again. I headed to the bank of the large oxbow lake which feeds into the wetland. On the walk down at least ten Black Redstarts were seen along with half-a-dozen Serin. At the lake there were a few Night Herons flying around along with Pygmy and Great Cormorants. The hoped for Little Bittern put in an appearance with a fairly close flyby. A Syrian Woodpecker was nesting close by and made several flights across the water. I then heard the call of a Black Woodpecker which then flew onto a bare tree across the water giving fantastic views. Definitely one of the highlights of the week. The afternoon session was spent in a floating hide which was basically a tin shed on floats moored a few metres from the shore. It was reached by a small boat which was pushed out by one of our host. wearing chest waders. To access the hide you had to clamber through a hatch in the side, quite a challenge and certainly a unique experience. From here we had good close views of Whiskered Terns, Night and Squacco Herons along with other various waterbirds.