While I was admiring the ducks waddling on the ice in their bright orange boots, I heard a splash behind me in the brook, as I whirled around I made eye contact with a lovely big Heron which by the time it took me to raise my camera was lifting off.

I make no apologies for the ropeyness of these shots, preferring to revel in the fact that I got them at all. Just such a beautiful fraction of time. Later, at dusk, in the distance, I saw a pair flying regally over Joe’s Overflow, so exciting, I don’t think we have had a breeding pair before.