Swimming Through The Branches

I went down to the river quite early this morning. Another cloudless sky with the sun shining down on the river and lighting up the woods on the opposite side, causing them to be reflected beautifully in the river.

The mallard flew in and landed further downstream and then swam upstream through all the reflections giving me the chance to get this shot.

As can be seen from the reflections, the trees are beginning to come into leaf, although there are still a lot of bare branches around.

Other highlights of the morning were a flock of 17 shelducks feeding on the mudflats, but too far away to get a good shot. Groups of them flew up and down the river, looking spectacular with their bright red beaks and black and white plumage but again, too far away to be big enough in the frame.

I got a nice shot of a songthrush singing and another blackcap, and a few nice shots of lambs with their mothers. I decided against putting these up, as I put a foal and its mother up yesterday. I also tried my hand at catching swallows in flight - some fair results, but too small in the frame.