After this mornings' superb sunrise the sky softened and the wind washed away the colour. Subtle pinks and greys made the black shapes of crows and cormorants stand out boldly, while other birds seemed to blend into the background.
Three Common Gulls were with the Black-heads for a while, but there was no sign of any ducks until a female Marsh Harrier breezed past, sending Shoveler, Teal and Gadwall darting off, only to skim back minutes later.
I had hoped that the Peregrine might still be about, but two Buzzards were the only other birds of prey about. They flew up into one of the large trees that overlook the back of the settling beds. One then continued over hte village, harassed by a party of crows.
Five or six Long-Tailed Tits arrived at the reedbed edge, poking around a hawthorn bush, and a charm of about twenty Goldfinch perched briefly in the top of a willow.
I had only been out for about an hour and nothing out of the ordinary had happened, just all sorts of different birds doing what they do, and I felt better for having noticed it.
