Brandon at either end of the day

This morning I decided to drag myself from my slumbers very early and arrived at Brandon about 30 minutes after dawn (a bit later than anticipated as I had to scrap ice off the car).  It was very cold (just above freezing) and the wildlife certainly knew, as bird song was a bit more limited than normal (presumably they were all feeding up after surviving a bitterly cold night for this time of year).

As I walked around the long route to the golf course, Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and Chiff Chaffs were beginning to sing and the Cuckoo (which I still did not manage to see gave a few hesisant calls).  Sheep Field also contained a reeling Grasshopper Warbler (although I could not see it).

I was rewarded for the early start when I arrived at the reed bed near to the golf course and soon found my first Sedge Warblers for the year and then a Reed Warbler.  The star though was a very showy Lesser Whitethroat who gave me close views for about 30 minutes.  By this time, my hands were about to drop off with the cold so I headed back to the car and home.

I then ventured out this evening to see if I could find the Cuckoo and the Gropper but missed out on both yet again....darn it!