Silhouetted heron

It's late and I'm so tired - thanks to having put two coats of paint on the study ceiling. I started that last one just after 9.30pm, and finished in less than an hour - speed painting indeed! The only trouble is that my left shoulder is throbbing a bit - the muscles aren't used to wielding a roller above my head.

I managed to get out for a walk after lunch. I had pondered going to the Nene Washes to see if I could photograph the short-eared owls, but the sky was still very grey, so I decided it wasn't worth the drive and went to Ferry Meadows instead. I possibly made a mistake, as by the time I arrived (less than 10 minutes after leaving) the clouds had cleared and there was a couple of hours of beautiful sunshine.

I managed to get some quite nice shots of the shoveler ducks that have returned for the winter, but in the end I couldn't resist this heron, sitting in a rather ungainly fashion on the top of a hawthorn bush, with the setting sun behind.