Well, I thought it was going to be nice!!

At home in York the temperature had climbed to 23 degrees. It was warm and fairly sunny. I thought of either North Cave or Blacktoft. Packed my stuff, threw in a jumper and my light summer waistcoat. Blacktoft then: no wind, might even catch up with a bearded tit for the first time this year. Three-quarters of the way there it began to drizzle. Then it really rained. By Blacktoft it had abated so I decided to get to Marshland* asap and stay there since I had no waterproof.

Oh yes. I've got these 3 common tern pics sitting on my desktop and with nowhere to go. Let's pretend I took them at Blacktoft yesterday! Let's be clear, I didn't but I can't remember where I did take them. Fairburn probably. But they are nice birds, aren't they?

Common Tern Common Tern Common Tern Right. That's done then. Black to Backtoft!! [Deliberate error!]. All was fairly quiet. The scrape looked deserted. The bins soon showed me what my naked eyes were missing. [What is a naked eye? Why do we sometimes keep our eyes peeled?] There were 6 redshanks and 5 green sandpipers over against the reeds. I thought I might be spending the afternoon hoping the greensands would come a little nearer.

A heron dropped in close to the hide. Best heron photos I've ever taken. The bird knew I was there but didn't care less!!

Straightforward pose.

Grey Heron Caught small fry!

Grey Heron Grey Heron The light somehow produced a nice effect. Time for a shake.

Grey Heron

Grey Heron He kept a beady eye on me too.

Grey Heron I though this image might look all right in black & white.

Grey Heron

Eventually one of the greensands came a little closer and landed on one of the muddy islands.

Green Sandpiper

Feeding together:Green Sandpiper

This bif shows the characteristic white rump of a flying greensand.

Green Sandpiper The rain returned with a vengeance. It's about time they shot the people who declared a major british drought. Wettest drought on record. First ever Olympic washout? You heard it first here, folks!!

These two looked fairly miserable. You can see the rain bouncing on the water!

Greensand#1: What month did you say it is?

Greensand#2: July. Feels like October doesn't it!

Green Sandpiper One greensand came fairly close.

Green Sandpiper An eclipse shoveler still looked quite classy in the rain.

Shoveler Finally to my surprise the spotted redshanks [I want to call them blackshanks!] dropped in from Ousefleet*. I had known they were knocking about. All 8 of them. If you look very carefully [i.e. peel your eyes!] there are 2 common redshanks among the rocks on the left of this picture. It's considerably cropped - they were quite a way off.

Spotted Redshank I'm afraid you'll have to trust me on that one. I could see them when I zoomed in close. Eventually they flew off. Four went right in the direction of Xerox* and four returned to Ousefleet*.

* these are hide names at Blacktoft RSPB if you are unfamiliar with the reserve.

Spotted Redshank Spotted Redshank

Other birds seen today: magpie; mallard; meadow pipit; blackcap; reed warbler; marsh harrier; swallow; lapwings; pheasant; reed bunting