Rail Against The Dying Of The Light

Vile weather this morning but I was busy with admin anyway. The sun broke through after lunch so I went to RSPB Rye Meads.

It is situated near Rye House, where the fifteenth century gatehouse, with its barley-twist chimneys, still stands. As one walks around the reserve in the shadow of the three modern silver chimneys of Rye House power station, one can hear the roar of karts at the track where Hamilton honed his skill. Being a petrolhead it made me think of Michael Schumacher, who also started his motor racing career in karts. Hope he makes a full recovery from his skiing accident.

As I approached the Ashby hide the setting sun shone through it, illuminating the moorhen in a sort of light-box montage of the three British rails that the hide is dedicated to. The largest, the coot, is depicted diving for plant matter, the moorhen is foraging on the surface of the water and the little water rail is looking for invertebrates amongst the reeds. A mural inside the hide shows how the water rail's slender body can squeeze between the reed stems.

Last time I was in this hide I got a shot of a water rail and a snipe in the same frame.