Gadwall

Staff Development hour this morning was a birdwatching walk around campus. Not as cold as the last two days but a bit muddy round the lake. We spotted 31 species in total - I can remember: 
Blackbird, robin, nuthatch, wren, redwing, crow, magpie, jay, swan, herring gull, black headed gull, little egret, heron, cormorant, coot, moorhen, egyptian goose, canada goose, gadwall, mallard, shoveller duck, tufted duck, great spotted woodpecker, blue tit, goldfinch, red kite, long-tailed tit. 
Cycled back home to work in our little office for the rest of the day. As I was putting my lunch together, S pointed out the sparrow hawk sitting on our garden fence. Great addition to a day of birds. 
Our guide mentioned the idea of spotting 20 species a day as a kind of wellbeing supplement like a daily vitamin. I like that idea, perhaps that should be my aim for walks around campus.