If you've got it, Flaunt it!

Today was a very frustrating day. The weather was great but I was let down by those items of modern technology meant to make our lives better. Pam's car is being serviced, and mine decides now is the time to start playing up, stalling unexpectedly and generally feeling "lumpy". Then I couldn't connect to the Internet.One of the most frustrating things in the world is talking to a guy, and an intelligent guy, some where in the Indian sub-continent about why I can get my computer to connect to the Internet. Meanwhile I can hear the radio in the background talking about the levels or unemployed in the UK. Yesterday I talked to a very helpful young lady in the Philippines about my bill for my broadband. She was great and good luck to her for working in the middle of the Philippine night to answer questions from the UK, but it still seems odd to me.

I collected Pam's car, and left mine for a bit of (probably expensive) diagnosis. Time had drifted by and I needed a quiet retreat from the aggravations of the day. I decided on the hide at the Restharrow scrape, and hoped that something unexpected might arrive. Six Snipe were on view, and I thought that these four made a nice composition.

Three Pied Wagtails were feeding around the edges of the islands, often calling and just occasionally getting together in a group. Although in the daytime they are often single they roost together in quite large gatherings, sometimes in numbers reaching several hundred.

The drake Teals are now looking very smart, they must be one of the most handsome of their family. All around they can be seen in groups, paddling in the muddy margins.

I could only see one Wigeon in the scrape, and I reckon that it's the one that hang around all summer.

Many of the male Shovelers are now pretty well in their full glory, and already they seem to have sorted out a partner, almost never leaving it's side.

I noticed one group of Teal where the males were suddenly lifting their tails and throwing their heads back, in a pose that seems to be designed to show off the most colourful parts of their plumage. A case of if you've got it, flaunt it!

I noticed a bit of agitation, and then suddenly every thing took to the air, with the exception of the snipe, that just flattened themselves to the reeds. A micro-light then flew over the scrape and there was complete pandemonium.

The gulls had been building up, all Black-headed Gulls so far, but I had been keeping an eye on them, just in case sometime a little bit more interesting joined them. Now they were off and so was I. Before I left Phil Smith popped in and we briefly discussed the England Rugby team's improved form, let hope they maintain it for the Six-Nations.