Lovely Surprise!

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments, stars and hearts for my Green Lizard the other day, he's made it to  on bottom of Page 2 of Popular!! :-)

The forecast was for rain from late morning so I went out for an early walk. Just down the road I spotted marsh harriers flying fairly low over a field and I actually managed some decent shots (for me).

I decided I'd walk along the reservoir from the dam (the Long Adam walk) in search of the ducklings. Before I got there I came across this handsome fellow who very kindly posed while I managed a few shots, before he disappeared into the undergrowth.

We used to have loads of pheasants around here when we moved in over five years ago but there's hardly any these days. We suspect the large numbers of marsh harriers and buzzards are keeping the population down.

I found the ducklings (see extra) when their cheeping attracted my attention, they were in the middle of the reservoir without an adult! I was quite concerned about them, when some adult birds landed close to them in the water. A male pointed them in the right direction and off they swam, alone again. I know I shouldn't be concerned about them as they are wild birds, but they're so cute and it seems abandoned.

More on Flickr including the marsh harriers and more ducklings.

If anyone is still reading, I came across a fascinating article on The Guardian this morning called 'Should we scrap the benefit system and pay everyone a £100 a week whether they work or not?' It's about UBI otherwise known as Unconditional Basic Income. It's the first I've heard about it and think it's a very interesting concept. I'm not sure how it could work but interesting all the same.