Swan Lake

Alan had a day off work today and as it was nice weather we decided to go to Arundel Wetlands and booked the boys in with the dog walker so we didn't have to worry about what time we got back.  

The wetlands are known for Kingfishers which I really hoped to see, and when we go there we were in time for the first boat safari, but our guide said we would be more likely to see them from one of the hides.  The boat glided through the waterways and it was very relaxing but we didn't see very much, just a few ducks and a resident gull who followed the boat. 

We then headed for the hide that he'd suggested and there were quite a few serious bird spotters there with very big lenses!  Everyone seemed quite excited that there were Snipes on the banks of the water - they were quite hard to spot due to their colouring but we managed to see them.  Alan was lucky enough to see a Kingfisher as it flew past us, but it was so quick that by the time he'd told me, it had gone.  

There were lots of different ducks and swans, and we spent quite a while watching the Bewick Swans who were having a fantastic time bathing and preening themselves.  They were ducking and rolling in the water and then started flapping their wings and were literally running around splashing through the water - it was quite a sight and very amusing!

It's a nice centre and we spent a lovely couple of hours there, but we were both disappointed with the lack of wildlife.  We were chatting to an old man who told us that when he started going 6 years ago, there were so many different birds, but now there's very little.  Most of the birds there are kept in cavity and most of the 'wild' birds we saw were gulls and herons.  We saw lots of Common Darter Dragonflies though, which we were surprised to see bearing in mind it's November.  Oh and we saw a rat!  It was quite a nice rat though, it had a sweet face and looked quite healthy.

Once we'd finished at the wetlands, we went into Arundel to have a wander round the town and popped into a cafe for a hot drink. It was getting on for 5pm when we left so the traffic was pretty heavy coming home and we didn't get back until about 6.30pm, but we've had a nice day.

It's Friday night and I still haven't had a glass of wine and to be honest after my month of abstaining, I'm not actually that bothered, and think the weight loss has become more of a motivation than having a glass of wine!  Although tomorrow night Elif and Seyran are coming round for dinner, so I'll probably have a glass then. 

Anyway, it's almost midnight so I'll say goodnight and wish you all a good weekend!