Back home now, so no more scorching temperatures and crocodiles amongst the egrets, but sometimes the familiar is just as good. The Somerset Levels were cold and bright today. There were no rarities, per se, but just the sheer number of birds was spectacular. Last week we watched the massing of the starlings, but this week was hide-bound birding over the wetlands: teal, wigeon, snipe, shoveller, peregrines, buzzards and lots and lots of lapwings. The piping wigeon and the plaintive lapwings makes up the quintessential winter sound track.
Here are some piccies (I've just hit the 10000th photo on my new camera) to give you an idea of what I mean about "lots of birds"!:
