Swallows

Bad news and good news. The bad news is that my intended blip got away. I came across a perfectly-lit heron motionless in profile beside the River Avon at Lacock with superb light falling on the reeds and water, pressed the shutter and got the message "Memory Card Full". By the time I had replaced the card, it had gone. The good news is that shortly afterwards my first kingfisher of the year streaked into view, a dazzle of vermilion, following the bow of the river from right to left in front of me.

I walked south-west along the riverside for forty minutes or so in the mild hope of seeing it again, perhaps having landed on a branch further along, but it was not to be. I did, though, see reed warblers, swallows and martins, mallard, chaffinch and a buzzard calling from above, not to mention a field of cattle, and walked a stretch of the river I had not seen before. I caught these three young birds on a branch overhanging the river as I walked back.

Lens: Sigma 70-300mm

Day #432
Blip #430
Consecutive Blip #427

Alternatives:
Chaffinch
Dog rose
Esmeralda
River Avon

One Year Ago: My photographic assistant