Birds and Bushes

I didn't have a bird in my hand, but even if I had, I'd have probably wanted to let it go in order to try to take the portraits of this pair of juvenile bearded tits.  

I've seen bearded tits briefly before in this location of the Somerset Levels, and I regularly stop by briefly when passing, just in case any of them are visible.  But in the main while you might hear a pinging call it's pretty rare to spot the birds themselves. 

Today was different however, as a small family group landed in a bush not too far from me and stayed there for a short while.  Inevitably the birds stayed amongst the cover of the leaves, so this was the best shot I could manage.

The bird is also sometimes known as a bearded reedling. In fact it is neither a tit nor a reedling but a distinct species the Panuridae.  The RSPB reckon that there are about 700 breeding pairs in the UK, so it was a complete delight to actually see some juveniles today.