Thursday 24-02-2022 - 12:00 to 13:00 After heavy rain there were sunny spells with a chill wind. Last week, on Thursday 17th, the pair of Egyptian Geese first revealed their brood of 12 newly hatched goslings. We were concerned that they would be threatened by the storm coming the next day. Today there were 11 still with their parents who were trying to see off predatory crows and crowds of Canada Geese. Most of the birds were on the new grass of the flower meadow enjoying the fresh shoots and the puddles. One of the Black-headed Gulls has its summer plumage black head. Magpies were repairing their domed nest in the top of a tree in the meadow area. The young Mute Swan is moulting out of its juvenile brown and into its adult white feathers. It is also getting more aggressive. One Great Crested Grebe was dozing near the main island. The path around the lake was closed for construction work. Wire cages to be filled with stones, gabions, are being installed at the north end - presumably to protect the bank. There were few small birds to be seen. Several trees came down during the storms of last week. A full list and count of the birds seen is given in the Bird Table .