"You see, I'm much better looking than you...!"

..."No you're not""! These two cute Moorhen chicks looked as if they were comparing their appearances in their reflections in the lake! They certainly didn't look very old and Mum wasn't far away. We chuckled at how they have such big feet on their little bodies - they can certainly use them to swim at quite a speed even at their tender age.

Our walk to the Killingworth Lakes this afternoon was also rewarded by some other lovely sights. There were more Crested Grebes than we've ever seen there before, and one pair were showing off some of their courtship rituals. The first extra shows them pretending to ignore each other (I do like how the one on the right is peeping through a half-closed eye) - then they had a bit of a "kiss" (2nd extra) - but then she decided to play hard to get and swam away. Maybe he'll be luckier another day!

We think one of the coot females has probably laid some eggs as she was sitting very securely on the nest while hubby brought some more sticks to enlarge their abode (3rd extra). We'll keep a watch on them.