Bearded Tit At Pensthorpe

We picked Bintree in North Norfolk as we wanted to go to Pensthorpe, which is the home to BBC's Springwatch TV program.

It turned out it was only ten minutes away. Closer than we had thought.

We spent a whole day there, and it is a fantastic place to visit.

Before we came away I had set myself a few goals, some of which I had pretty much set from the time I picked the camera up again towards the end of last year. I wanted to get a picture of a Kingfisher (just seeing one would be a start to be honest!), I have always wanted to see the Starlings swooping in huge numbers at dusk, and I wanted to get a photo of a Bearded Tit.

Now I have spent quite some time in the reed beds in Newport Wetlands Reserve, and saw one, fleetingly.

Luckily, Pensthorpe have a nursery area to help birds breed successfully. One of these birds were Bearded Tits.

Even in this controlled environment, getting a decent shot of them was challenging. They are so quick, and flit in and out of the reeds all the time. This is one of the best I managed.

They are stunningly good looking bird. So unusual and full of character!

Now I don't really count this as being ticked off my list, as the bird wasn't in the wild, but I can at last say I have a photograph of one!