Walking on water

This was the culmination of two hours of pure joy, the bonus prize at the end of an afternoon watching over the Causeway Pool at Leighton Moss, where every minute there was something rare or unusual to see. This is the ever so secretive water rail, for just a few moments out in the open, walking on the melting ice, a bird that constantly twitches and flicks its tail and feathers, ready to make a dash for cover at just a slight hint of danger.

Water rails are more often heard than seen, squealing like pigs deep in the reedbeds. If I'm lucky I might see one once in every ten visits, yet their squeals show them to be omni-present. This bird was fidgeting at the edge of the reeds below the viewing slats outside the Causeway Hide, my attention was drawn by its grumpy squawks as it foraged for food. The light was falling by then, and it was impossible even at a high ISO to get a twitch-free photo.

It's only the second time I've managed to get a half decent photo, the first time was blipped 8 years ago as the Ice Runner.

Whoops, pressed the wrong button and published before I finished the text. I was going to say that most of the two hours was spent watching the dog otter fishing for eels, catching one, then taking it onto the island to eat, while flushing the small flock of lapwings there. The day before would have been the time to visit for a real otter spectacle, the female and her three kits skidding about on the ice. I missed that as we were on our way back from BW, though the water rail was a rarer highlight, strange as that might sound: otter sightings at Leighton Moss are a daily occurrence. Plus there was a fly-by by a bittern just after I arrived, and that's a one in ten experience too.

I even resisted blipping a sunset, I must be going off the rails.