Visitor VillageA number of people had dropped out of this week's trip so we were rather depleted in number's for our trip to Brockholes. It was lovely to have Annie leading us especially as we will miss her when she soon moves home and can no longer come on our outings. Our outward journey to Brockholes was a sunny one but with much cloud gathering and a poor forecast it was only a matter of time before the rain fell. Several people went on a walk down by the river, led by 
Common Blue Annie, whilst others did their own thing exploring the walking trails and hides on the reserve.37 birds were seen including avocet, redshank, ringed plover, buzzard and kestrel. Several young birds were seen including a blackcap. Our botany recorders were absent today so there was no formal flower count but botanical highlights included ragged robin and southern marsh orchids. Several butterflies were seen including common blue and large skipper. A four spotted chaser, numerous common blue damselflies and a solitary red damselfly were noted. Martin was tipped off about a group of stoats and he was very privileged to see six of them frolicking on a path. The rain held off until 30-40 minutes before our departure - when it came it was very heavy and thundery but we had enjoyed a lovely day at this special reserve. Sue