Here the team was a little larger, which is not always a good thing for that means more items for the comfy hide picnic. Yes, watching the Wild can sometimes mean less watching of the waistline.

The dawn seemed reluctant to throw some light on the vegetable samosa I was eating, but it was unable to hide the pre-breeding season courtship display by eight shelduck which were pressing the wild to bring on spring.

A flock of 10 greylag geese then emerged from the murk and, in doing so, seemed to lift the curtain of this reluctant dawn. Their noisy wing-flapping departure pushing away the last of the night but too late for my camera to capture an image of the kingfisher.

Teal displayed, with the males at their peak of plumage this highlighted by the now ever present sunshine which then drew most of us out for a wander about the reserve.

Goldcrest, our smallest European bird, called from some of the wonderful wild jumble of bramble, gorse and other vegetation that provides food and shelter all around this wildlife reserve. The Wild’s every whim and need catered for on this once brownfield site.

A return to the hide, where we began the day, allowed the feast to continue from which I then retreated and made my way to check out the wild on Chat Moss.

A check of the tamed landscape that supports turf growing, then showed that nature waits its turn to re-wild even such a bland area. Winter thrushes and starlings, plus an alert kestrel, were enjoying the harvested areas that now temporarily resembled, in parts, a marsh.

It was time to retreat away from day 11...one more to close our 12 days of Christmas Wild.