Mission Accomplished - Bearded Tits

On Friday i went up to RSPB Leighton Moss with the intention of hopefully seeing the Bearded Tits, which would be a first for me, and to hopefully get some decent photos. The weather forecast gave me a possible dry morning, although the light wasn't great which didnt help, and the forecast rain arrived right on que at lunchtime. But nonetheless the bearded tits were coming down to the grit trays and I managed some half decent pics in the gloomy light.



After a 15 minute wait i could hear them calling in the reeds and hey presto a pair arrived.











I was really enjoying seeing them for a good while then they got spooked and disappeared into the reeds and the 'spooker' appeared beneath the trays, a stoat!!



As well as the Bearded Tits there was lots of bird life about but the gloomy conditions meant not many photos, but a few to follow. There were Pheasants in all the fields and were very vocal but not easy to photograph and were quickly off when they heard me.





A group of Mute Swans coming in to land



Cormorants drying their wings out



A Bullfinch caught my attention in the tree above me



As the weather closed in I dived into the Tim Jackson hide for a spot of lunch and across the lake a Stag and his hinds were feeding and resting













As I left the main reserve I called in at the Eric Morecambe hide, and there were Great White Egrets and Snow Geese well in the distance out of camera range, but a bit closer in where large flocks of Redshank.







lastly one of the local residents just chillin chewing the cud!!