Thanks Dave. The trip was quite important for me, as for a few years now my wife would ask "What's that bird?" when she heard a call, but I couldn't hear it at all. So some months ago I had a hearing test and I had lost quite a bit of the higher frequencies, which is why I couldn't hear the birds. So, on Wednesday I picked up some hearing aids and the trip to the lakes was to see (or hear) if I had regained the ability to hear the birds calling. The joy to hear the birds again was wonderful.
It is a double edged sword though.... I can now hear squeaks & rattles in my car that weren't present until this week

and trying to have a conversation in a busy cafe is difficult. I still can't hear the wife, apparently