On guard...

I was overwhelmed by the response to yesterday's blip - thank you to everyone who took the time to comment. I'm afraid I'm behind on comments again - and not likely to catch up till Sunday as we're off to work in Dorset tomorrow, which means leaving home at six in the morning and not returning till eleven at night.

Yesterday evening Pete and I went to a guided walk at the Nene Washes, an internationally important wetland just east of Peterborough. It was very atmospheric, with plenty of drumming snipe and displaying black-tailed godwits. We also saw a young short-eared owl, a distant barn owl and watched a marsh harrier being dive-bombed by snipe.

There were some good ducks too - the most special of which was a pair of breeding garganey. But the highlight of the evening was hearing the distinctive rasping 'crex crex' sound of a male corncrake calling. This species has recently been re-introduced to the site and is now breeding successfully. A lifetime first for me!

As well as the birds there were quite spectacular cloudscapes, finishing with an almost unearthly glowing sunset, which can be seen in my blipfolio along with another couple of skyscapes. I think some of the keen birders in the group wondered why I was taking pictures of the sky!!

Today's photograph is my response to Bethanne's dog challenge. I thought this would be easier than the cat challenge, but the dogs have been worn out today, and have spent most of their time sleeping in poorly lit rooms. But Rosie took a little time out this morning to lie on the grass in the sun. She's in her guard dog mode, making sure she protects us from unwanted ginger tom cats which might appear from next door's garden!