Time to build the Ark?

On January the second, I had a wander along to the Restharrow Scrape. 

A far as I c an remember we were already well into the wet season, and the water level of the scrape had already reached a height that exceeded the norm. Nevertheless there was still quite a large island in front of the hide on which a lot of the ducks chose to sit around.

Yesterday, despite the days benign weather, there was, as it has been for sometime now, no obvious sign of a island.

But a careful look at the identical area of water show that the top of the island is just about high enough to allow a couple of Shelducks the luxury of standing.

 On of my favourites on this particular puddle are the Dabchicks, and at this time of year they are in splendid plumage and can be good fun to watch. The are not too impressed when an uninvited guest invades their territory.

And the braying noise, I suppose that it could be called their song, that they used to advertise their ownership, is one of the great sounds in the spring.