birdpix

We went on an RSPB local group trip to the mysterious Penington Flash.The bus driver was entertaining ,he took an unfeasibly long route route to actually get there.On the way back ,he had trouble getting out of the car park ,to be fair it was a tight manouveour ,he still managed to dent the side of the bus before getting lost again on the way back .I looked up and wondered why we were in the middle of Stoke City centre,we hadnt gone this way on the outward leg.

The star of the show, were the many kingfishers to be seen ,I said to my wife oh look theres a post in the water ,that would be handy for kingfishers ,no sooner had those words left my mouth then what should whoosh by ?  a kingfisher of course,giving the impression that I had a rough idea of what I was talking about ,rather pleasingly in a smug kind of way.Most group members saw about fifty species of bird.We missed the black tern and greenshank ,but thats the way it goes.The most entertaining hide was the bunting hide ,where you could watch vast numbers of small birds whizzing around and filling their wellies.There were willow tits ,so I was happy watching these little beauties.Lots of very scruffy bullfinches and  a magpie with a dodgy eye and a far too lethargic for his own good greenfinch fledgling.What I have difficulty understanding is why I apparently cant get a decent picture of a moorhen, a very common bird,there was one in bright sunlight ,posing for me ,comedy feed and all on proud display ,too far away for ordinary lens and too close to digiscope.I opted for the latter and cut off his funky feet .Never mind, I like these birds and will get a warm tingly feeling when I get a decent shot of one ,I will be showing it to you ,provided that is that you havent died of boredom.