More LBJs than I can shake a camera at

Went for a bacon sandwich birdwatching walk round Rainham this afternoon; just round to the Marshland centre and back, since I had the woman over for a trip into London last night and she'd only bought sandals. I have never seen so many Reed Warblers in my life. They were everywhere. Obliging, easy to see, sitting on the same tall exposed perches for 15-20 seconds at a time and generally being perfect for photography. Which was a real bugger, because I'd decided against taking the nice camera since we were only going for a quick walk. Instead, I had the trusty old Kodak Easyshare - fine for record shots, wasted on today's opportunities. With the Pentax, these would have been pin sharp. Gutted:


Still, saw lots, heard even more, and got a nice view of a Sedge for the first time this year (only heard them up to now) which just reminded me how distinctive that Supercilium is. Also had much cuteness in the form of a fluffy little Blue Tit chick, a small group of Cygnets being shepherded by mum, my first Rainham Water Vole of the year and a Little Grebe sitting on a nest. A couple of Redshanks from the Marshland Hide were probably the most interesting things out there birdwise, but they can't compete with fluff.


Speaking of cuteness, arn't baby Coots really ugly?

I'd love to have stayed longer, but it was getting late and the sound of thunder was definitely getting closer as we headed back to the centre. Also, one of the cows was giving me evils and I got slightly scared. Moral of the story: Always take the best camera you can carry, the walk is never 'too short to be worth it'. And yes, I've learned this lesson before, and yes I'm sure I'll do it all again.

'arf moi land you