Boom boom

A marvellous booming Bittern yesterday, blue skin in front of the eye brighter than a damselfly's bum.  This one was booming with his neck stretched out a bit, not as hunched and inflated as sometimes.  Still grand though.

  

loafing and moulting

This seems to be the week when the drake Shovelers that have been loafing about start their moult.  So here's a shot at capturing a full plumage drake from last week, doing his harlequin hippo thing and maybe pondering the spring that has passed.

shrikefest

Such a fine shrike day at  Lowestoft last Sunday.  Absolute pearler of an R-b Shrike, with a scimitar shadow cast on its breast by its bill.  Plus as bonus feature the Woodchat, bouncing around on a bramble bush.

trying too hard?

Time to accept that in terms of my patch
1 I have missed Willow Warbler for the year and
2 I am not competent to find my own Garden Warbler by song.
So scraping the barrel for patch ticks (see http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk for why) had a wee scan for Black Brant.  No joy, but here's what I take to be a Pale-bellied Brent Goose from amongst the circa 400 Bark-bellied Brents hoovering up my brother's barley crop.

Happy day

First Hobby of the spring at about 8:30PM against the setting sun.   Strange to reflect that it will be four long months before hopefully there are juveniles bouncing about the old dead oak..  

too much time on my hands

Happy day- I retired from the London commute yesterday and on my first morning of freedom had the pleasure of 2 Wood Sandpipers at Cattawade, long range digipic of one of them here captures the moment.

showing some leg

These godwits- still fun.  Here's how much extra leg a Blackwit has over a Bartail- enough to accommodate a cluster of bling.