Nearly at the end of April and the weather improves daily. Recording my mileage has not been without serious hiccups, not least my Fitbit stopped recording so I had to wait for a new one and later I simply lost the charger. I know, but it’s only about three inches long and has obviously been put somewhere. So while resisting the temptation to buy a new one whilst waiting for it to turn up, it didn’t, I wasn’t counting as accurately.

Now I have sat and worked out I am averaging 2.4 miles a day, well my phone worked out it was 2.2 but as there are big chunks missing as I don’t tend to take my phone with me on days out if hubby and I are together, I’ve tweaked it a little, but not a lot.

Which means I’ve walked 268 miles.  Not quite on track but the summer is ahead of us and so are the long glorious days.

These birds are quite small, extremely well camouflaged and are timid and enjoy disappearing into long grass. I am very lucky to have seen these birds as they moved quickly for a few seconds. 

I’ve always wanted to see these birds close up, and now I have.  Another long held dream ticked off. 

Loved up Greylags, the prettiest of all geese with their orange bills, pink legs and beautiful grey feathering.

The last week or so has been busy again.  Hubby and I have enjoyed our almost daily jaunts and although we only do about 4 miles a day on foot going to and from the various hides, it all adds to our feeling of well being. Perhaps just sitting in the cold without central heating and a comfy chair to lean back into helps to tone one up, one can only hope eh!

So what have I seen?A water Rail, that was a real treat as they are such secretive little birds.  I’ve not upped the red, the beak really was that bright, it must be at the peak of being ready to breed. A nice little Robin singing a happy song as we left one evening, I shot this with just a little fill in flash and its turned out pretty well – the Robin didn’t seem to mind at all. The Lapwings were out for a spin. They are amazing to watch as one never knows which direction they will spin off into next, amazing acrobats and very hard to photograph. A Grey Heron at last light taking a fish, I love the reflection in this. And this is an action shot of a Grey Heron taking a Pike for his supper. A Crested Grebe enjoying the sunshine and having a scratch. A Little Egret shaking like a labrador, so cute!And last but by no means least a Common Sandpiper, which are normally too far away to photograph properly, so I was very lucky when it landed on a much nearer island.

A series of photographs I shot this morning, I’ve left the series intact although I have begun the story at the end of the ‘act’ just to give it context, the dance continued after the ‘act’ had finished. It was such a beautiful dance to watch, one that I have never seen before,  that I wanted to share it in its entirety. Click on the first image to see the photographs full sized.

Another lovely day was had by all, we left rested and happy after a gorgeous afternoon pottering in the sunshine, surrounded by birds and the banter of new found friends, what could be finer.