Preening

Staying on a bird theme, what an opportunity today to photograph close-up a beautiful cob spending a great deal of time preening himself. Not far off his mate was in the nest on the north bank of the Forth and Clyde canal. Sited at a very public spot overlooked by new flats I hope they successfully rear a brood. The male had just seen off a few ducks on his patch when I arrived, but I was on the wrong spot to capture him taking a flying leap at them. This would have been good action shot! It is a massive bird and looks amply equipped to deal with predators like a fox or a human intruder. It seemed remarkably unfazed by my close presence and must be quite used to humans.