Flight of the fluke fisher

This will be a quick blip tonight as man flu has struck, and my head feels as if there is a very small man in there running amok with a very large hammer. So what was to be another big Lake District walk turned into a late afternoon down-jacket clad, gentle stroll along the edge of the estuary in milky light as the tide fell.

There was barely enough light for a stationary heron taken with the big lens, so I slowed the speed down further and waited for the inevitable flight of the bird as it was disturbed yet again from its place at the water's edge. Herons visibly need a lot of effort to get themselves airborne from water level, and we could debate whether there is any elegance about the action in real time. I tend to think there is an echo of the prehistoric about them. However, in blurry freeze frame, some might see the wings of an angel.

The heron continues the theme of fluke fishing from yesterday. Flukes are one of the main prey items of the herons on the Kent estuary as they are for the cormorants and sawbill ducks.