shot of the day

I rather hate to say so it being of 2 of the hated Greylags but is just a nice shot showing the value of going out when its anything but sunny

Marsh Harrier nest building slowly

rather half hearted at the minute as if they know that other birds are on their way back and a battle over the nest site may well ensue -- note the female sits and supervises from a distance

Greylags and Canadas

reedbed Blue Tit

rather more natural than a bird table feeder or planted perch

local Marsh Harriers

in mist and murk this morning

part goose

this hybrid Canada / Greylag seems rather more Canada like than most of the birds of this parentage that I have seen and this no doubt is the reason it seems to be paired to a Canada rather than a Greylag --

Pochard

it was a dull morning but Pochard brightened the day while waiting for an elusive mammal that failed to appear!

impact of cropping

Mute Swan in fervent attack mode --missing the wings off clearly concentrates attention on the small head and a feet and adds impact

Great Grey Shrike

a day spent in the company of a great bird but haze, distance, shimmer and looking into the sun made photography rather difficult but I like to capture flight patterns of these birds which can be so essential to racial ID -- mobbed by Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Pied Wagtails and Reed Buntings; it caught worms early morning when it was cold, 2C, and damp and later turned to bees -- at one stage a Kestrel flew to its favoured tree whereupon the shrike scuttled into the middle of the hawthorn only to climb back up and fly out to attack the Kestrel driving the falcon off to another bush;

Goldeneye and last grebes for sure