Singing Reed Bunting - Newport Wetlands

Struggled to chose what to blip today .. not because I took any particularly good photos today, but I always try to pick a photo that sums the day up on here.

This may not be technically the best photo I've ever taken. It was shot thru moving reeds at a moving target on yet another gloomy day (will I ever have a day at Newport Wetlands with unbroken sunshine again???) but it was the bird of the day.

There seemed to a large number of Reed Buntings singing for mates down there today. There were a large number of cuckoos too ... I heard loads ... saw two ... photographed none ... sound familiar? The Woodchat Shrike that would have been a lifer for me had long gone too! Although I admire the determination of twitchers. There was a vigil of a few watching an empty pylon intently. I went off in search of the cuckoo I could hear calling nearby .. and I found him/her.

My old faithful Sedge Warbler that I have blipped a few times (26th April and 17th May) was there, and I got a couple more shots of him. The big news is he has a mate now!

My brother, my sis-in-law and the kids turned up at lunch time. Alas so did the rain. It didn't deter us. There were plenty of Cetti and Reed Warblers to keep us entertained, and a few more wild Cuckoo chases!

An enjoyable if not tiring day ... I've run out of steam this evening. Next week I am determined to get to Slimbridge!

I've just back blipped the kids an my sis-in-law from yesterdays visit to my mum and dad's if you want to take a look.