Reedbed robin

Matt and I went for a wade around Leighton Moss today. I haven't known it as quiet on a Sunday in many years, but then I haven't often seen so much water there either. Not a day to have a leaky wellie, as Matt found out.

The reedbed robins appeared every time we stopped, they are so used to being hand fed along the causeway. I didn't even need to put a long lens on to get a shot of this one. He does have a particularly fine top-knot, I've been trying to think whose hairstyle it reminds me of.

We didn't see any rare birds and there were not a lot of water birds either, there are rich pickings for them on the flooded fields nearby. But we did have time to look closely at some of the more commonplace species: the pink-flushed redpolls and the yellowy siskins in the alders, the neat little marsh tits in the willows that teased us into thinking/hoping that they might be willow tits; the nuthatch head down flicking moss off a tree trunk to expose the invertebrates underneath. It was perfect just as it was.

Thanks for all the comments, stars and hearts for the Gus blip. I shall catch up shortly.