"Ratty"

I had a wonderful day at Titchfield Haven, a National Nature Reserve near Fareham, Hampshire.  

One of the highlights was seeing a water vole in one of the ditches. These were popularised by the well-known character Ratty in Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, who, despite his misleading name, is not a rat but a water vole: "… A brown little face, with whiskers. A grave round face, with the same twinkle in its eye that had first attracted his notice".

I was also pleased to be able to capture my first brimstone butterfly (plus an unidentified flying companion) of the year, and even more excited to watch a pair of marsh harriers flying ducking and diving over the reed beds - possibly looking for nesting materials. All were rather a long way away, but I've added some heavily cropped images as extras.