Small but beautifuly formed.
With the promise of a warm sunny day ahead, i elected to visit a local reserve that had some special visitors.
The start of the walk was a waggonway,thee forerunner of our railways, stretching for miles through our countryside.
Birdsong accompanied me as did a fresh hatching of Orange Tip butterflies.
Chiffchaff and Willow warbler were the main songsters as i proceeded down the tree lined footpath.
At last i came to my destination to look out upon a calm pond and a clear blue sky.
I wont name the pond because it carries the bird i came to see, a Schedule 1 breeding species, that requires a license to photograph them at or near the nest site. These are protected species so knowledge of their whereabouts is kept secret.
It goes without saying that i was nowhere near any nests, in fact i had to wait hours for them to wander my way, bt i was glad i was patient.
These are still distant shots but do show these tiny birds well enough.
Black-necked grebe.
My next reason for visiting was not long in turning up, the Little Blue Sex Machine or
Ruddy Duck. Sadly now pretty much long gone from our ponds and lakes,thanks to the policy of the RSPB of shooting them to prevent them flying off to Spain and trying to inter breed with the White Headed duck.
Other birds of note included
Little grebes (dabchick)
And a very smart
Northern Shoveler.