Dowitcher drops in at dusk

A late evening perusal of my local patch in search of the wide-ranging, long-staying Long-billed Dowitcher proved successful in the end; I'd planned to call it a day seconds before pinning it down. It's bizarre how this thing turns up out of the blue and this time it seemed to drop in at the last minute, joining Redshank and Lapwing in the late evening roost. Remnants of its summer plumage were evident but all things considered, this was a drab imitation of its former self - and the light was awful!

Still, all very satisfying - it's not often that an Osprey cruising past and then feeding on a fish it had caught plays second fiddle to something even better, especially so close to home!

I returned the following day and got some more pleasing shots: the bird seemed just as wary but the light was better and I made better use of what cover there was.