As the sun was shining this morning, i decided to go to wollaton park for what was meant to be a short walk, so i could come back and do some uni work. it didn't turn out to be, as i usually have someone with me when i go (stopping me from stopping every 20 metres to look at something), but unattended, i ended up staying for about 4 and a half hours.

I wasn't expecting a lot, as it can be quite hit and miss there, but the park was bustling with wildlife today. The first thing i saw was a flock of around 200 Redwing feeding on the sports fields. I then walked down to a wooded area at the end of the fields, where i've seen Nuthatch on previous trips, and lo and behold i got to see one, which alerted me to its presence by tweeting away and flittering around on a tree. In the same area i saw 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, birds i'm seeing more and more these days (never used to see any!), they were drumming and chasing each other, springs on its way! I would have stayed longer as there were a few birds i could hear and not see which i wasn't sure on, but i lost one of my eyepieces for my bins in the leaf litter, so got annoyed and walked off.

Continuing on towards the lake i took time to photograph the red deer stags, which were quite happy for me to snap them, unlike the Fallow deer, which ran away soon after seeing me.

On the lake was a very large number of wildfowl and gulls, more than usual and all making quite a din. Species of note were Gadwall, Pochard, Wigeon, Common Gull and a Grey Heron.
Some more red deer were in the woods next to the lake, which was lovely to see.

Walking away from the lake i saw a very loud Jay, and later near the gardens i spotted several more, feeding under a yew tree, along with more Nuthatch. Also in the gardens were a large number of passerines, and some Snowdrops. I also got some cracking shots of a couple of Carrion Crows, which i usually find impossible to photograph.

all in all a great day, with 31 species of bird seen :)