Friday 29 March 2013

Friday 29th. March 2013

At the risk of boring the reader to death , I awoke early to unexpected sunshine this morning , and on the spur of the moment decided to return to the millstream to see if I could photograph the Water Rail in the better conditions . With very few people at work and no school traffic , I arrived in no time . The sun was out , just , as a bank of cloud was steadily approaching , but it was still bitterly cold , and I was glad of the multi layers that I had donned before leaving . After yesterday's experience , I knew that my chances were slim , but I headed for the spot where I saw the bird very briefly yesterday morning . When I arrived , there was no sign , but just below the spot in the
phragmites , a bird was moving , it was the Water Rail again , and this time in sunshine . From the
of things , the bird had just finished it's morning ablutions , and was sat up in the sun starting to preen . I couldn't believe that once again I was 5 mtrs. from the bird , and it was taking no notice of
me . Every now and again , it would pose , before starting to preen again .
Only one person passed along the footpath during this time , and he didn't stop or make any noise , so
the bird seemed not bothered . In fact , at one point , I was sure that the bird got into the 'Hokey

Cokey' , as it seemed to be doing 'left wing in' , and finishing up with 'shake it all about' . After seven minutes of magic , and 140 shots on the memory card , a loud talking couple with a dog approached ,
and that was it , the bird turned and disappeared into the depths of the phragmites , not to be seen again . I had a look down the far end of the millpool , no sign of the cormorants , but the three Grey Wagtails were busily feeding . As I turned back to the car , that bank of cloud enveloped the sun , and the wonderful experience was over . I was home in no time , enjoying a hearty breakfast .
Still unable to comment , even though I have reset everything I can think of .

4 comments:

Warren Baker said...

Fantastic experience Greenie :-)
Unfortunately the only thing rarer than water Rail here this morning was the sun!

ShySongbird said...

What great views and photos you got Greenie. It certainly wasn't living up to its secretive reputation although I did read they can be quite confiding sometimes. I bet that breakfast went down beautifully after that :-)

John from the Chid said...

A wonderful experience.... and great photos

Phil said...

Great encounter Greenie, great shots too.
Don't think I've ever managed a picture of one.