The bird in the bush

It's a bit of a dull cold day here, while we wait to see what the cold front affecting the north of the country does as it moves southwards.  There's some suggestion that we might get a flake of snow or two in the middle of the week but I rather doubt it myself.  But it would be great if it happens. 

The hide that I'd intended to use was absolutely rammed with visitors.  I suspect that the flooding that has taken many hides out of use at the moment means that visitors are concentrated on those that are still accessible.  So instead I went for a wander around the reserve sticking to the parts of it that were largely free of visitors.

 The main is of the little long tailed tit watching me from the midst of the bush that it's been inspecting in its search for food.  In the extra the bird has found something, which it is holding in its beak as it flies back into cover.  

I'd have liked a less cluttered background for the in flight shot, but I was shooting at low level through a hole in the vegetation so the shot is what it is.  On the up side, if I'd been stuck in the hide I would have missed these shots :-)