(not) Spring 08 holiday, day 8

Day eight, Friday, my weather optimism turned out to be completely unfounded, it was grey with building rain which promised to get really heavy by lunchtime. Oh well best head back to Minsmere then. From the path to the Island Mere hide this female Green Woodpecker was foraging for ants:














A Greylag Goose flew very close to, in front of the hide:













And this pair of Marsh Harriers looked like they were practicing food swaps in the air!




















On the stands in the water in front of the hide four Great Cormorants. I like the way they all have their 'personal space', when another bird tries to get on in the middle the residents don't let it:














Finally, this bird has a huge stick I believe demonstrating its readiness to pair and breed:













The rain set in as we headed to Sizewell in the hope of seeing a Black Redstart but it just got heavier and heavier. In the end we'd got bored of cups of tea in cafes and getting soaked running short distances and decided that rain had stopped play so we sloped back to our hotel. Considering how much rain, sleet, snow we'd had combined with near continual heavy winds, losing half a day wasn't so bad...