Tawny in broad daylight & Russian WFG nailed at last

The 9th proved to be a good day. It began with some nice Whooper Swans nearby, but a better find was an adult White-fronted Goose just a few hundred yards from the house. Annoying, the flock moved away over the ridge of the field and then the whole flock took off. But patience paid off: watching the flock carefully, I made a note of where they landed and then worked my way across the fields to crouch by the hedges for cover. At long last (and various failed attempts over the last few weeks), I eventually pinned down my bird and took the shot. Phew! Ideally, I would have got in the ‘clean’ grassy field but had to settle for it feeding in weedy undergrowth.

Later on, just after lunchtime, I went for a run on the local loop; imagine my surprise and delight when I came across a Tawny Owl (in broad daylight and bright sunshine) snoozing in the hole in the gable end of the barn! Clearly without my optics and camera, I ran home, keen to gather my kit and hoping and praying that the bird would still be there when I returned. Sure enough, it was still there when I eventually got back to the barn, squinting into the afternoon sun. What a beautiful creature this was! I had the whole place to myself (barring a brief visit from some German tourists!) and was able to take photos at my leisure… all in glorious sunshine! I even tried, with some degree of success, to capture the moon in the same image. Anyway, I stayed for a while admiring the bird as it just sat and sunbathed with flies buzzing around it before eventually deciding to leave it in peace.