Coots and Moorhens. Some Birds are an Island

A very slow run today, after a fast 5km yesterday, with the prime intention of photographing some of the fascinating little "island" platform nests the coots and moorhens have built. The results are below, all pictures as ever taken with a mobile phone camera.

The weather was cold and grey; having the sugar factory here means we're all used to Sulphur Dioxide fogs and orange skies. No butterflies on the wing today, and definitely no hirundines yet. Still there were plenty of things to see; sporty mallards, the first spring cowslips, the "tseeeping" blue tits in the trees, and everywhere there was a tree of any kind, the sound of singing chiff chaffs.

Coot on a nest

Moorhen nest, the moorhen in question had just vacated

Hissing greylag goose next to Balderton Lake

Cowslip

A bower of sorts on Clay Lane