Another day of dodging the rain - what the BBC weatherman optimistically calls 'sunny intervals'.  Today I headed off for Hawkridge reservoir to try to see the previously advertised female red-crested pochard.  Unfortunately no joy there so I headed to Stolford for a look around.  As so often happens in my experience, the parking area provided the best photo-ops as I spotted a grey wagtail before even leaving the car.  An area of shallow puddles was making a happy hunting ground for this nicely coloured bird and after a couple of shots from the car window, I got out to try to get nearer.

That of course led to the bird flying off so I walked a little way in the direction of Steart hoping for some redshank along the stream to my left.  Having previously seen them in this area, they were of course nowhere to be seen and there was a distinct lack of winter thrushes, another planned target for this are so back for the wagtail again.

This time I was luckier and by crawling along on my belly (no doubt mystifying the local dog walkers in the process), I was able to get one or two shots.  However, the local pied wag was even keener to pose and, after dive-bombing the grey wagtail, it came very close to the lens indeed.

Another stroll down the path revealed a pair of stonechats and the female posed beautifully for me on a post with just grass for a backdrop.  So often they seem to like to perch high up so they are just silhouetted against the gey sky but this one clearly knew where to perch for the best pictures.

Time for a quick bite to eat and to check the forecast.  A 'sunny interval' was scheduled for 3pm so rather optimistically I set off for RSPB Ham Wall in the hope of having the starling display nicely lit by the evening sunshine.  I knew where thay had flocked yesterday so I hoped they would target the same place this evening and I wasn't disappointed.  Neither did the weatherman let me down as there was a good 20 minutes of sunshine as you can see by one of the pictures below.  However, I don't think I did too well photographing the starlings.  The black and white shot does manage to show just how thickly they flock almost obscuring the hills and woodland behind them.  I will be back to try again!