Rain

Friday.

No, not this last one [with the Gyppos and awful Exe bird photos], the one before. Slightly less wind, lot more drizzle. Getting on with it....


With rain forecast to arrive mid-late morning, though maybe not stick around all day, I decided - as I had to get things done - to go out chasing birds first thing. I had a year tick to catch up with, and a seemingly reliable even photo-possible Siberian Chiffchaff or two [despite them turning up fairly frequently] seemed to need not ignoring. Bonus Firecrest[s], too. Especially as the frickin' RCP at Saltram seems to have gone... :(

I found weather consisting of sideways drizzle. Right into the face of anyone mad enough to try to see birds in Broadsands Ley [well, it is! A teeny one, but still]

I was powered by no sleep and utter determination. The birds, after about twenty minutes of watching me get soggy and scowl ever more vehemently, gave up and showed. Quite a lot of them, in fact. Tits, warblers, finches, buntings, crests... It all got quite busy once you found the right spot[s] and nobody was wrangling baying hounds in the [immediate] vicinity. :)

They didn't sit still, mind. But I tried and tried and..

Well;

Firecrest!

 Much prettier than any Chiffchaff. Also a lot easier to track through assorted bushes and reeds...

See what I mean?

Unlike a grey-brown two-tone job,

It even called.

:)

In the classic pose, even*.
Now, I'm almost certain there were two birds present, on account of them looking a bit different, despite never seeing them at the same time. Also as you will see, at least two and possibly 3 regular flavour Chiffies, which really did not look the same through optics, let alone eyes, but were horribly close as a moving blur through a viewfinder..
I did say it was all fun and games, didn't I?

Inevitably most shots were;

"Niet, I am Reed Warbler"

Nice try.
Nice pose, though!

Eyeing up another midge

Why is it the regular collybita ones that strike poses for you?

Australian race

Firecrests are much easier

Shooting the more open ground birds would have involved aiming right into the rain, which would have been a bit counter-productive, so none of them. But you can look back to 'Mud' to see Cirls in overcast gloom, can't you?

While the land was quite busy, the sea was a Shag only zone. Ho hum.


I had thought about heading on to Brixham to try for white wingers, but the weather was so urgh that I figured I'd not be able to see any even if they were there...

Oh well.


Be Seeing You...

[[*See The Artist's twitter for the same pose but closer and without the twigs..]]