"All Along The Backwater, ....

Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!

Ducks' tails, drakes' tails,
Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!

Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roach swim--
Here we keep our larder,
Cool and full and dim.

Everyone for what he likes!
WE like to be
Heads down, tails up,
Dabbling free!

High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call--
WE are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!"

My male Shoveler is classed as a dabbling duck but doesn't upend. They hold their huge bills, equipped with comb-like strainers, just under the water and sieve out plankton and vegetable matter. Dabblers are also known as puddle ducks.

I was down the field before breakfast as it was such a beautifully sunny, frosty morning. I got a nice shot of a thrush and a blue tit on the same bare branch against the cloudless blue sky.

I decided to go to Rye Meads to see if the glossy ibis was still there, hoping to get shots of its plumage looking glossy in the sunshine. As I got out of the car I spotted it flying above me. There was a man in the hide with a 700mm lens who had been there all morning hoping to see it. I pointed it out to him as it came into land. It soon took off again and flew into a mobbing of a buzzard by some crows. Maybe it was spooked? Don't think it has been back to the reserve today.

Whilst in the hide a kingfisher landed really close and I'm afraid I broke with etiquette by squealing with delight and moving too quickly, which scared it off. :(