Over twenty members spent the morning on this wetland/woodland reserve in a chilling northerly but on a mercifully dry day that forestalled worries about the cancellation of a third successive walk. There was considerable admiration for both the bijou visitor centre and the spacious observatory, both newly built. The lake held small numbers of water birds, mallards, tufted ducks, mute swans, three pochards, two great crested grebes that gave a dancing display, coots and moorhens and black-headed, lesser black-backed and herring gulls. Five cormorants were perched in a tree behind, showing signs of breeding plumage. At the Bullfinch Hide there were good numbers of passerines around the feeders including blue and great tits, chaffinches, goldfinches, a male reed bunting and a few siskins. The Woodpecker Hide was even more impressive. In two visits the group picked up three more species of tit, long-tailed, coal and marsh and a great spotted woodpecker. There were several more siskins and a couple of lesser redpoll while two bullfinches put in an appearance for a few of the group. Perhaps though the stars were a pair of bramblings that foraged at the base of the feeders. Pickings in the marshy and wooded areas were not as rich. The odd grey heron appeared but there were no signs of occupation of the heronry. A few redwings were topped around the treetops, several wrens were perched high engaging in singing duels and a treecreeper was briefly seen. Back at the entrance pond final sightings were of a grey wagtail and a pied wagtail. It was a morning well spent with a list totalling 45 species.