Barton Broad

 Sunday April 5

Barton Broad is a good place to look for early hirundine, Willow Warbler and Terns. The official car park is a long way from the Broad, but there is a small Blue Badge only car park. We had intended walking to the viewing platform at the end of the boardwalk, the latter meanders its way through wet Alder Carr for about 400 metres. The platform is always exposed to any wind there is. Today, it was very windy, our phones said 'feels like 1C' and it started to rain.

We stayed in the car park, seeing and hearing Marsh and Coal, Blue and Great Tit. Wrens shouted from deep cover, Robins and Chiffchaff from nearby. Then.... two parents and their two boys, all on nice bicycles, rode in. Then, another dad with a young girl who needed support on her little bike. The boys started it off, the adults soon joined in, using the small dirt floored car park as a velodrome, whizzing round us, doing brake turns and emergency stops, , ever faster. Disgraceful disregard of other people and a very inappropriate situation. The birds had gone. After ten minutes, hoping the people would go, so did we. 

 

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