Morden Hall Park, 31st March 2018

The last few days - if not weeks - have been very difficult for myself, my family and family friends due to the passing of my grandfather, after a battle with cancer lasting 2 years, and sadly ending in the evening on Easter Sunday. I'd been spending nearly every day with him, as much as I could, over the last few weeks, and needed to get out for a little bit just by myself on Saturday to try and stay happy, and decided to go to the patch, as it was nearby. 

As soon as I came out of the tube station I watched one of the civic centre Peregrines harassing the pigeons, and it was a nice start to the day.

Then everything seemed to become a bit horrible.

I've always been a bit of a dog person - if not a bit secretly. My cousins in the Peak District have 2 Chows, and they are both great dogs. This is not only because they are what dogs should be to people, but are relatively well-behaved etc.

The very first thing I saw when I entered the park, near the north side, was the male Kingfisher dash down the river, alarming loudly, with a dog chasing it for the sheer joy. It made me feel slightly sick, and the fact that the dog's owner, completely oblivious to what was going on, was strolling about 20m behind and chucking a tennis ball back into the river, made it seem all the worse. 

I apologise, as I was accidentally a bit rude about it on Twitter - this comes after seeing a post a little while back about dogs attacking Muntjac Deer in Norfolk. It's unbelievable what some dog owners think when in their own world, just them and their dog. It's just a shame that not all people are the same, and are good people that care about their dogs and wildlife. And I feel guilty about not being specific about it being some dogs and their owners, not like others who enjoy their surroundings as well.  

Either way, back to the good stuff. After last weeks patch tick nothing new was found, despite searching the meadows and open ground for some migrants like Wheatear. 

The Kestrels were mating near the reedbeds, with 2 males fighting for the female. No Water Rails were seen, but a Little Egret flew S, both Kingfishers were seen again - though the female is avoiding me at the moment. Every time I get to the bridges and the hotspots she flies off! 3 Grey Wagtail were seen throughout, and a pair of Tufted Duck were the first for a while. A Little Grebe was near the adventure playground, and the Peregrine circled at one point, as did plenty of gulls. The final birds of interest were 4 singing Chiffchaff, drumming GSW and GW, though no Lessers (unfortunately!) and 2 Nuthatch. 

(There were a few pics, but they aren't uploading. Will add later)