Stonechat on Wanstead Flats

Back in the day we used to get wintering Stonechat year in year out. It was a guaranteed tick on January 1st every year. I can't remember exactly which year they petered out, but last year we had at least one wintering bird and this year there appear to be two. This is excellent news, they are lovely little birds that like to perch up and don't seem to be phased by large cameras or red hats. Yesterday the bird by Cat & Dog pond and I played a little game. The rules were that for the first half an hour I would try my hardest to approach it, and just as I was about to press the shutter it would fly off and giggle. Once this time was up, it then promised to stay still for up to ten seconds at a time before changing perch. This suited me just fine, I don't need anywhere near ten seconds when I am in the groove.....

 

NB This is exactly the kind of post Gavin H referred to in his recent post about blogging. Forget the words, just go with photos. I wrote it yesterday whilst I had a bit of time, and then set it to publish today at 6pm. I'm at work. You're welcome.