Rufford - Site Tick!

Yesterday (17th), I went across to Rufford for an early start. I arrived at 8am (not that early!) and spent some time at the Abbey end of the park, before heading over to the mill for a look at the gulls.

I was there early on to look for Hawfinch. Whilst waiting, I picked up two "year ticks", Great-spotted Woodpecker (99) and Treecreeper (100).  Shortly after, one Hawfinch (101) flew in and posed beautifully, against the beautiful blue sky, for a minute or two.

Hawfinch (female?)

After enjoying the Hawfinch, I headed across the park to the Mill end to look at the gulls. I'll blog about that later. As it was still quite early, there weren't many people about, so I managed to see a species that I've never seen there before, a Great White Egret (102)! The bird flew the length of the lake, before landing and fishing just by the path. I walked across, and managed to get this back-lit image. A lovely addition to the site's birds.

Great White Egret