Poor Mr Vole

Yep, blawin' a hoolie, and brass monkeys out... So I hopped on the bike down to Musselburgh to see if any birds were coming out to play. I'd actually spent the morning playing with my new toy... A chainsaw... But cabin fever was setting in a little with looking after Mel (in between coughing fits and napping) and just thinking about work and some stuff going on that... well... I'll not go into it, suffice to say I ain't too happy.

Anyway, cobwebs blown away, and a choice of blips presenting. I'd been watching this Kestrel hovering away, then drop like a stone. So kept the camera on the undergrowth into which he'd disappeared, and lo and behold he reappears with what I think is an unfortunate wee vole that was to serve as a late lunch.

Mel preferred one of a raft of shots I got of two Redshanks fighting (at least I think they were fighting, it could have been an attempted mating, it's often difficult to tell the difference with birds - much like humans really...); and then there were the uber-punk ducks, some Red-breasted Mergansers, the females of which stayed remarkably close as I snapped away. But I was in a 'life and death' kinda mood, and despite this not being the best shot technically, the curl of the Vole's tail, back paws tucking up, while the Kestrel flies on with a look of nonchalant indifference... There's a macabre inevitability about it all.

Of course if any of those three species had not already been in the BlipBigYear then the choice would have been easy, but all have been claimed, so back to waiting for our trip to Lewis to throw up some different stuff, and praying Puffins aren't captured before our Isle of May trip at the start of... May.

As an aside, in the grey light having to manually focus everything. The lens just doesn't like things not being crystal clear. I guess it's a disadvantage of having gone the 'budget' route for the big lens when I got my redundancy payout two years ago - and even if I'd been handed a fortune I doubt I'd have justified 3 grand on the Nikon version - but even so, it can lead to some frustrating moments. Fortunately today I'd figured on the auto-focus not being up to scratch, so had the finger on the switch to flick to manual as soon as needed.

Right. Housework to do, then dinner, then some ironing, then... work. Arse. Still, could be worse, I could be a Vole.