Wren

I'm 18 months late posting this (on 11 October 2017). A wren was vigorously singing from willows close to the new Tower Hide at Leighton Moss. We were there very early in the morning as part of a challenge to see 100 bird species in a day between various locations in Lancashire and Cumbria.

It was an enjoyable day, but it was also the start of an unexpected  journey for me. We saw our 100 bird species, 102 were seen by all 4 of us, a few others were seen by M and his total for the day was 106. But by the end of a long day I wasn't feeling well.

That was the beginning of a nasty infection, the first of several that led the medics off in the wrong direction over several months. An ultrasound scan eventually showed something unexpected: an enlarged spleen, and the radiographer recommended I should see my GP as the specialist who was examining me wouldn't be interested in my spleen - she was right. That led to the blood tests that confirmed the diagnosis of a chronic form of leukaemia, and the prolonged watch and wait period began as I slid slowly downhill. As I write this, of course, I have had the first and hopefully only round of treatment, and in January I should know if it is in remission or whether a second round will be needed. In the meantime, I'm feeling better and stronger by the day.

Anyway, I didn't take a lot of photos on that birding day, we were too busy  to faff around with cameras. I tend to think all birds are special, but the wren is maybe just that bit more special than most. It is so small, and yet has such huge power when it sings, how can such a small creature emit so many decibels? And they are indomitable, we find them almost everywhere in the UK, on remote islands and singing from scree high on mountains as well as in our gardens, woods and wetland nature reserves. They are vocal now in mid-October when most bird species have given up singing for the year. It's not a bad example to aspire to.