Grey day, grey man....

And yet another post revisiting a theme from the first month of E,W&W. Grey herons at LWC are abundant to say the least and given their tendency (according to a staff member I spoke to ages ago) to swallow newly reintroduced watervoles whole (as well as various ducklings, frogs and fish) maybe a bit more abundant than some would like. They are also, for some reason, among the most beautiful grey herons I ever see.

 

I think it may be that these birds are more approachable than most, somewhat habitutated as they are to both serious birders and rampant toddlers. This lets you truly appreciate the detail on the bird. Also I suspect this is a mature old (check out the bill damage) bird in all its finery for the upcoming breeding season which probably goes a long way towards making a heron look less, erm, messy.



These shots are a little overexposed due to my misjudging the low winter sun. I rather like the slightly colourless feel it gives the pictures. Feels like sunny cold winter's days.