The common redstart was the incentive to wander over to Duchess Pond in the Stoke Park Estate (less than 500 metres from home) and we were lucky to see it again. There were lots of treats including our first swallows of the year, willow warblers, chiffchaffs, reed buntings, green finches, blackbirds, robins, a cormorant, 2 mute swans, Canada geese and dozens of ducklings of various sizes. I’m sure there were loads more to see but we were bitterly cold and the attraction of a coffee was too great to entice us to stay out any later.