Pin the tail on the......

A visit to Slimbridge today....... just to get the Year list off to a flying start.
I added a few more ducks and waders.
I already had a Pintail on the list but couldn't resist a couple of photos. What beautiful ducks;

However, the highlight had to be this rather elusive Water Rail. I've been trying to track one of these little blighters down on my patch for months. With no luck. So I was thrilled to get a peek at this little fella today:

The elusive Water Rail

Finally, I couldn't resist this shot - The House Sparrow that wants to be a Reed Bunting!

Reed Sparrow

Other highlights today included a huge flock of hundreds of Lapwings and Golden Plovers circling overhead, Bewick Swans, Black-Tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Redshanks, Shelducks and Barnacle Geese.

You know, Slimbridge is a marvelous place and the birds are just astonishing, but for me there was something lacking.
It's a sort of sensory overload. There are so many birds that it just overwhelms you. It's like being in some sort of avian supermarket and just scooping the goods off the shelves.
It's all too easy.
Back to the patch, me thinks.... and the thrill of the chase. There's something to be said for sitting in a damp, draughty hide for hours on end with nothing but a couple of nervous moorhens to watch.
Waiting ..........  for that special bird to turn up.