The Radley Lakes Trust organised a community event with cakes, nature activities, and music at Radley Lakes. I left my bike in good company and looked around.

The Abingdon Community Choir sang a song written specially by Helen Eccleston. It began:
Come and spend a while down by the Lake
with a view to make you smile down by the Lake
…

The choir were followed by Trev Williams by the Lake.

The Radley Lakes Trust carried out a survey at their information stall by the Lake.

The Thrupp Lake cake stall also sold ice lollies on this hot afternoon.

The sun was out, and the blue sky was reflected in Thrupp Lake.

Nature activities by the Lake included plant identification with David Guyoncourt

and bird watching through a telescope with Ian Elkins

and Graham Bateman on the lookout for mini beasts.

The new parking area at Radley Lakes has been laid out with racks for 12 bikes and spaces for 9 cars, 3 of those requiring blue badges for drivers with disabilities. The area is protected by lego-style block barriers.

A new map displayed near the new entrance is also available on fold-out leaflets.

When I visited today there were clouds and a brief shower. This view is of the largest lake, Thrupp Lake, where there were swans, geese, moorhens, ducks and ducklings. Swallows flew low over the water – too fast to photograph.

But I did photograph the first Oystercatcher (for the Abingdon Blog) on one of the small islands,

and a Heron perching on a branch with two other herons on the ground (youngsters learning the skills of a Heron).

Walking around one of the smaller lakes, in the restored gravel workings, the algae looked brown and swampy,

but there were lots of exciting wildflowers along the perimeter path.

I saw two swans with eight cygnets this afternoon somewhere in Abingdon.

On Friday I saw two swans with three cygnets, elsewhere. That makes eleven cygnets in Abingdon. There are probably more.

The pile of bricks left after the demolition of the house Sandles has been flattened. A new area for parking cars is being made for visitors during May. The car park will include an information board and, in time, be screened by a hedge.

Yellow flags brighten the bank near the road as I set off around Thrupp Lake.

Black-headed gulls nest on some small islands, and I saw them swooping and catching some of the many insects. They are opportunist feeders. Some squabbled and attacked each other for places on the islands. I only saw the one swan on Thrupp Lake.

This duck had a slipstream containing eight ducklings, keeping very close wherever the duck went.

On one of the smaller lakes nearby were baby coots. A cuckoo could also be heard around the filled-in lake near the railway.

Back round to Thrupp Lake, and the sun was going down.

These pictures were taken on Sunday evening.