Is there a more beautiful bird? This was the highlight of a North Shropshire tour of the Meres and North Shropshire.The answer is probably 'yes' but I fell in love with Channel Wagtail after my first encounter at at Venus Pool in 2011 and despite the fact it's an untickable (hybrid) bird, worth every effort to enjoy... Having seen several now, they are consistently uniform in appearance but the light can play a huge part in the colours we see. A hybrid between the European Blue-headed Wagtail (Motacilla flava) and our resident 'Yellow wagtail' (M. flavissima) it combines the head of the former (in a paler grey blue tone) plus bright yellow underparts. Simply drop dead gorgeous...
It was looking good even 60m away...
So, I picked spot to stand and wait... patience is a virtue of course!
Just a turn of the head and movement of the grass...
The pristine white throat and sharp demarcation with the yellow add to the charm. The dark patch is the wind ruffling the feathers!
How about a lucky moment calling!
So, I picked spot to stand and wait... patience is a virtue of course!
Just a turn of the head and movement of the grass...
The pristine white throat and sharp demarcation with the yellow add to the charm. The dark patch is the wind ruffling the feathers!
With two successive thunderstorms, the background (distant trees) colours were constantly changing.The darker tones set it off quite nicely?
How about a lucky moment calling!
'Showing well' would be a safe description...
