counting coots

Spring hasn’t sprung, but it’s starting to make the avifauna get ready.

Great Crested Grebes are rid of their boring winter visage, and are hanging out together with some tentative weed offerings. Magpies are starting to investigate last years nest site, Grey Wagtails knocking about in a pair. Mute Swan also investigating a nest site (but one doesn’t look old enough to breed yet). Mallards, Gadwall and Tufties are all going in for a bit of head bobbing (but the Gadwall will leave soon). Black Headed Gulls are nearly all sporting summer caps (which means that they will start to disappear soon). Greenfinches are more vocal, as well as the Dunnocks (a long walk can find at least 4 singing males). Yesterday I managed to find two Goldcrests knocking about together (the Chiffchaff was hanging about in this kind of company but I haven’t seen it for a while). I managed to get a recognisable picture of one of them after what can only be described as old fashioned fieldcraft. Or stalking as it would probably be called in these enlightened times. No fancy kit, no pagers, no twittering, no nothing. Just watching, waiting and moving reeeeaaaaaal slow. Oh yeah, baby.

I was actually trying to relocate the Kingfisher that flew past me on Monday, but to no avail. Somehow this image appeared in my camera.

I think it might be a Great Tit, or a Blue Tit, or it may not even be a bird. I haven't got a bloody clue. But after all the stunning photography I have offered in the last couple of posts, I thought I would get back to my normal standards. The more I look at this pic, the more it amuses me. And I'm not entirely sure why.

While checking out the Starling roost late on (I hope to post more about this in time), some (20) Greylag Geese flew over. Which was nice.