Sunday morning at Leam Valley

Hurrah - my endless cycle of professional examinations came to an end on Friday (unless I have to retake something, in which case scrap the 'hurrah' bit).

So now, with only my job and a small child at home to keep me busy, I might get a few more birding trips in.

This morning was my first trip to Leam Valley in a while, nice enough but always likely to be fairly quiet in June (the best birding times around here are typically March to May and September to November - when migrants are arriving, leaving or passing through, and all birds are generally calling, nesting, getting ready for winter or generally doing interesting things).

A few favourites were on show, like a Buzzard, a Kingfisher, a pair of Bullfinch and a Green Woodpecker. A Reed Warbler on the scrape was the first for me on the reserve itself (normally I find them further along the river), and I discovered from a helpful dog walker that two cygnets fledged from the Mute Swan's nest two-and-a-half weeks ago. Good luck to them.