Power cut forces birding trip

Today we had no electricity for three hours. This wasn't actually a power cut - there was a man downstairs replacing all the electricity meters. As it wasn't (quite) raining when he switched ours off, I decided to go down to SWR.

There was the same mix of stuff around as there was over the weekend. I am going to try not to be too boring and post different species to those that I posted last time...

... except for this one. This Green Sandpiper was on the near shore, and made its way to within a few feet of where I sat in Willow hide before suddenly noticing me and my camera, and flying off with a startled volley of squeaks. I was dismayed that I'd scared it, but it was already making its way back in my direction by the time I left the hide.

There were a few insects in evidence when the sun was out. One of the less obvious was this immature Green Shieldbug, confident in its camouflage as it relaxed on the upper surface of a nettle leaf.

I took a rare walk down to Long Lake and was so moved by the beauty of the lake when the sun hit it that I... CHANGED LENS and took a few scenic shots. This is probably the prettiest lake on the reserve, though not the most wildlife-rich. I flushed a young Grey Heron when I got here, but saw no other feathered life.

It wasn't a complete blank though. I was happy to see this Comma, even though it wouldn't open its wings for me. There don't seem to have been huge numbers of Commas on the reserve this autumn.

Back at Willow hide, a new species showed up - a small flock of Teals which flew around in a circle before landing rather a long way across the lake. This was the best shot I got. At least it shows off that lovely green speculum.

There were two or three each of Grey and Pied Wagtails foraging on the mud in front of the hide. This one stood out with its peculiarly peachy chest, probably the result of waddling in water full of iron ore.

Add to this - one fly-by Kingfisher, a metric shed-load of Chiffchaffs and the usual backing cast. It still counts as a great trip, because of that very photogenic Green Sandpiper.