The Marais de Sougeal revisited

I'm going back about three weeks when the weather first turned lovely. The Marais is a water meadow that we like to visit around March, because it is flooded on purpose in late winter to allow a resting place for migratory water fowl. Only the last two winters have been wet and the area that is flooded has been much bigger than normal. But comparing with last year's photos the flooded area is even bigger this year! 

Something new this year - a gravelled path
where before there wasn't even a track.

Only we didn't get very far because the path was also flooded!

Further along from the previous pictures there is a hide, but all the ducks were, as usual,
on the far side of the lake area. All the ducks bar one are Pintails (the males are the ones
with the long tails) and there's one Wigeon on the right with a browny red head.
This is seriously zoomed in and I couldn't even ID those ducks with my binocs!

The only bird anywhere near the hide was this gull. (Black Headed?)
It had caught what I think is a newt!

Which it brought up onto the grass and then thankfully lost it.
I have no idea what are all the thousands of little flies (?)
covering the water surface.

Diving in search of something else for dinner!

Another view; this place near a parking area and the path from the first two photos
was less flooded last year.

Just to finish off here's a picture of the chateau at Combourg. I took this the same time as I was taking pictures further up the lake for my Graduation Challenge album. Only chateaux didn't fit the category Nature!

Le Chateau de Combourg.