The Long Chilly Wait

The idea came late last night, the sky was so clear, every star could be seen with ease in the Norfolk skies ... let's get up really early ... let's go watch the sunrise ... it'll be beautiful .. it's so clear tonight!

05:30 the alarm sounds, a running session around the house as we grabbed our thermals, applied as many layers as we could (it was minus 3 outside), prepared flasks, grabbed a blanket to sit on and most importantly packed the camera's.

By 06:40 we were stumbling into one of the many bird watching huts provided by the RSPB at Welney Marsh, just outside Manea in Norfolk. Everything around us was pitch black, trying to set the camera's up, the tripods and the blanket to keep warm, whilst trying not to drop anything from shivering so hard.

The sunrise eventually came, a disappointment for so much effort as the clouds decided to return and hide its splendour but we did see it, we didn't capture it. We did see the awakening of the swans and the ducks as they broke through ice, the dancing of smaller marsh birds barely visible in the low light ... not a complete waste of time.

But it was cold .... chilly brrrrrrrr ....