Yesterday, I went for one of my regular potters up at Oare marshes and encountered a flock of bearded reedlings. I’ve seen occasional individuals there at a distance, but never a flock close-up. They were moving quickly, and the wind was blowing the reeds around, so it was difficult to get an accurate estimate of the numbers, but perhaps there were 15-20 individuals in the flock.

At this time of the year, they feed on the seeds of the reeds: as they climb up the stems to reach the seed heads, the stems bend over and the whole plant, with a bird attached, seems to bounce around crazily. The males and females can be easily distinguished: the males have big black “mustaches” (not actually beards at all); the females are much plainer.

The light was not great, but the overcast gave a soft wrapping light that suits the subjects perfectly. With the birds moving so quickly, I used a fast shutter speed - 1/2500 sec - to freeze the movement. The results are pictures that appear the show the birds posing for their portraits rather than bouncing around, although they never stopped moving.

Just one of those gorgeous moments on a cold winter’s morning.