Visit to The Lodge, Sandy

Today we arranged to meet up with Laura and Laurence at "The Lodge"

- an RSPB site just outside Sandy in Bedfordshire. It is also the RSPB HQ. Here is the site trail map and trail descriptions, which can be downloaded here. They don't provide paper copies at the visitor centre, suggesting you photograph their map. We did a combination of the Woodpecker and Nuthatch walks before having our picnic and then did the Buzzard walk.

Here are a few of my photos.

Wee waited at the visitor centre for a few minutes for Laura and Laurence to arrive.

The staff there were busy watching the feeders nearby. There was such a load of activity of great tits, blue tits, coal tits, goldfinches and... can you see at the bottom right?

A redpoll - rare in this country, it is a visitor from Scandinavia.

The RSPB site says there may be about 350 of them in the UK.

Dawn could have stayed and watched for ages (she says she saw two woodpeckers at the feeders while I was greeting Laura and Laurence), but we went on the site trails, starting on the Woodpecker Trail. .

The site is quite high up with views to the south (and later) west. These pylons stride across the site and beyond.

We found a pond and were surprised to see it still had some ice on it.

We visited the gardens of The Lodge that gives the site it's name.

There are some large fish in the pond.

There was a sweet-smelling scent wafting across the path from this daphne.

There were snowdrops and early daffodils too.

The view to the south-west. Look! there's a train coming.

We came across a muntjac in the bushes just off the path.

We admired the red sandstone cliffs and imagined them teeming with nesting  martins in the summer.

Picnic time.

The witch hazel by the shop had plenty of birds too, flitting down to peck at the seeds scattered on the ground.

I spotted what I think was a goldcrest briefly.

And here are a couple of goldcrests.

Then it was onto the Buzzard walk, past the New Heath...

...to the Iron Age hill fort at Galley Hill.

Shortly afterwards, I spotted another goldcrest

There was a fair bit of up and down on these paths and some good views... with plenty of colour.

And now we were back at the visitor centre.

A lovely day out. It was nice to see and catch up with Laura and Laurence and we saw some lovely little birds! Thank-you Laura for suggesting it. You can see more of my photos here on Flickr.