Out and about.

Because Hanna will be laid up for a while following her operation, we had planned to make the most of this week and get out and about. We managed to get out to Anglesey Abbey gardens to see the very first snow-drops peeking through and we made a pilgrimage to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Welney, near Ely, to see the wintering swans.

The current mild spell is encouraging the spring flowers and we have quite a bit of birdsong. I'm especially fond of our song thrush that lives in our garden. His confident song consists of short but melodic phrases, each made twice, in case we missed it the first time.

The mild weather has also brought rain, so that the fenland Washes at Welney were deeply flooded. Far too deep for dabbling ducks and, with nowhere to dry to loaf about there were no waders either. We were treated to the usual fine views of the whooper swans at the mid-day feed. They were joined by packs of pochards, a few wigeon and pintails, two ruddy ducks and one pink-footed goose. All the birds were up close and in good light, providing a great photo opportunity, but Ive filmed them dozens of times before. It was nice just to be mesmerized.

On our way home we took a little detour to a spot where we often see a barn owl, and there he was! I took a bunch of pictures, of which this is the best. I must get a more professional camera one day, but I'm pleased with the result, all things considered. It made our day.