A Mere Cold Steel Rail *

 I couldn't stop singing the song to myself the whole morning after watching this little beauty, almost the first bird I saw when I put the bins to my peepers this morning.

juvenile Water Rail at the Mere

Water Rails are resident at the Mere but I've not come across a young one before. They are quite secretive birds, showing themselves infrequently. The most I've seen together was seven, when there was a particularly wet winter a few years ago, but they were all adult birds.

A Snipe was managing to feed along the water's edge but there is precious little edge to see at the moment. Distant photo but it added to the day's list.

Same with Great White Egret too 😂

Great White Egret with a list to port on the water level

Dragonflies are being seen every day but they don't settle as often as I would like. This female Common Darter obliged for a short while.

Common Darter

On my way back from my morning's meander along the south side of this particularly wonderful piece of God's own county, I spotted a Wheatear fluttering in the reed tops. Alerted by its wonderful white rump (aka arse, of which more shortly) I snapped a few snaps.

 The name of this bird is not a reference to the wheat crop that has ears, but is more interesting than that, or it is to me anyway. In days of yore the bird was called white arse by the country folk, but language being what it is, the old English name gradually evolved into Wheatear. Much less descriptive than the original name and misleading too.

* for those unacquainted with the magnificent works of Pink Floyd, this is a reference to the fabulous and famous song Wish You Were Here, the lyrics of which include the lines:

Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?