Little Egret

I managed to get down to the river this morning. I got there at just the right time - the tide was just going out, so I set up my hide almost touching the water. I had to wait for an hour for it to begin revealing the mud, and there wasn't much much action up to that point.

Then the gulls began to appear at the waterline on the far side; a couple of egrets were also on the far side, one waiting in the trees. A duck (which I haven't identified yet, but which was not a mallard) flew past and then the action started.

The gulls and the egrets flew over to my side of the river and while the egrets stayed up river out of camera range, the gulls came foraging at the water's edge. They went past the hide, then flew back and came past again, repeating this about half a dozen times. Then some redshank came along and finally, one of the egrets flew in and landed right in front of me and I caught this shot of it just fluffing up its feathers. It was almost the last shot, as the weather came in as predicted, so I packed up the hide and went home.

We went out for a meal this evening, treated by the mother-in-law. It's Mrs Mikey's birthday tomorrow, so that was her present from her mum. The food was exceptional, and the waiter was pleasant and efficient. (I think my daughter thought he was as delicious as the food). We weren't rushed, and courses came at good intervals. All in all a good day.

Tomorrow, we're off to Reading to see my son, so I may have some catching up to do on Friday, when we get back.