Merlin magic

Two perching males - one on 13th at Blackdyke and one at Cardurnock on 18th - were a real treat and just about made up for an otherwise miserable half-term break, mainly due to serious 'man-flu'. The bird at Blackdyke was perched on a distant post in the middle of a swamp, unlike the Cardurnock individual, but with zero cover around, even the latter was virtually impossible to photograph up close - and the heat haze didn't help. Still, I quite like these two shots, both capturing the distinctive environment as well as the bird, I feel.