Exhibition -part II

Not all of the pictures hanging up on the wall at Welney are recent works from this year. Back in hte before times, Dunc and I spent a couple of hours at Titchwell beach watching the seaduck lingering offshore. Among the Scoters, Mergansers and Eider, were Long-Tailed Duck. A few males paraded in front of the females, their heads swelled and white feathers shining in the strong light. These duck are all too often just a bit far away, but when they're close enough, you get hte chance to see just how enigmatic they are. There really is no other duck like them. despite them sporting lots of distinct plumage changes, they can't be mistaken for any other species, and it's always a real treat to see these visitors from hte far north. On their arctic breeding grounds, the males are wrapped in dark chocolate and chestnut, but when they drift south and gather off our shores, it's as if they've been coated in frost and capped with snow.

I immediately grabbed a small canvas when I got back to the studio and set to work on a simple motif to record my memories of the sharp blue waves and one of the Ice Princes.

Other visitors in winter drop into the birch woods in small drifts and are equally well met. Redpolls share much of the colour scheme of the Old Squaws, but that scarlet cap is the focus. Back in the Autumn of 2019, myself and Rich came across a small group at Holkham. There was still too much foliage on hte trees to get unobstructed views, and the strong light was against us, but we could see that these were Mealie Redpolls from Scandinavia, colder than our native ones. One bird in particular may have been a Coue's Arctic Redpoll, but identification in those conditions, and at range, was ultimately forgotten as we were already struggling to pin down a possible Siberian Chiffchaff in the trees closer to us.

I couldn't put up a show at Welney without Godwits. In recent years, they've become almost as significant as the Swans there. I've been lucky enough to have had intimate experiences with the Welney Godwits, from egg to adult. There is something very calming about watching them chuckling and probing in the late Summer evening, just a few weeks after hatching. It's hard to imagine the scene while hte cold January bitterness still lingers, but in just a couple of months, these same birds will be returning to the wet meadows of the washes and the 'tick-tock' calls will be added to the background of the Fen Spring.

Since it is Winter, I couldn't help thinking that I should put at least one image of the British Season on the wall. Of all British birds, the Robin is perhaps the most familiar, and most regarded. They stare back at us expectantly as we dig the garden or stroll along a country lane. Scuff up the ground, stand back and they will dash to inspect the work, ready to glean any exposed grubs and worms.