Snipe

Peering out of the hide window at low tide there didn't appear to be too much around but dibbling in the shallow mud was this snipe happily working his way down the shoreline away from me. Always the way! 

Taken from the Robbie Garnett Hide I just followed him with the lens as best I could with the eyepiece steaming up because of my face mask. . He's not very big approx 25cms, with a long beak which is flexible at the tip used for probing for worms which makes up for a quarter of it's length. 

It's been a long day as I headed for the hills early doors to see if there were any owls around. Meeting up with the usual suspects up there I was reliably informed that there were no voles this year in the fields according to the farmer who has recently cut a good swathe and saw none. Now for me that is a disaster. For my shorties to stay I need thousands of voles! We shall see.