So far this year, I have been visiting my patch in the south-east of Brussels about once a week yet it has taken me until this week to finally see the Cetti's Warbler I discovered in early January. There were plenty of birds around, including lots of vociferous Redwings and a big flock of at least 150 Chaffinches feeding on the beechmast. In fact, the morning's tally reached 54 species, without any early migrants, which could well be a personal record for the winter months. Gadwalls (above) are often overlooked being more subtly coloured than most other ducks but, in good light, they're actually quite attractive. I'm still trying to get a decent photograph of a Long-tailed Tit but, so far, have only managed several blurry shots plus a single in-focus picture of the back of the bird's head! Thankfully, though, other birds are more cooperative such as this Water Rail which had caught a small fish at the edge of the reeds, allowing me to get a couple of shots of this elusive species.
