An important lesson

Today I learned an important lesson. Always check your equipment regularly. I checked mine today and found something I hadn't expected, shouldn't have been there, and needs to be removed. A polarizing filter.

I'd put it on when I was taking pictures of Bittern last Tuesday, and had strong bright sunlight in front of me and reflecting off the train, and then forgotten to take it off again. Considering today was foggy and not particularly bright, it was the last thing I needed on my lens!

In the end, though, I don't think my shots ended up too badly, even if I have had to brighten them a little. This was a walk round a local lake; lots of bird life to be seen, including swans, ducks, herons, cormorants, moorhens and coots, and a pied wagtail that appeared to be walking on water but actually was wading across some dense pondweed. The walk is a little over three miles and can be quite exposed in places, but although it was below freezing and we started off feeling cold we were lovely and warm by the time we got back to the car.