Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Dusk reed-beds
I very nearly got a quartet of reed-bed specials this evening. To begin with, a dark blob high in the reeds turned out to be a preening water rail.
Next was a bittern, snapped as great dark clouds massed around the red sun and daylight was all but extinguished.
Hearing a Cetti's warbler explode into song close by, I took a couple of steps towards the sound. Instead of the warbler, there at the base of the reeds was a lovely male bearded tit; a second bird looked like a female. The bearded tits were not my "find", but as I didn't know they were still around it was a nice surprise to see them.
Now that's the sort of outing (despite the lousy pics) that sends a birder home happy to her tea!// posted by Christine @ 10:34 AM 
