Guests on a Swirling Carpet

Autumn: when a cold artist is awake before the sun.

The season of mists and fruit, and also birds, some tall and familiar.

Misty heron Oct 22

Others lively, but more easily overlooked. Reed buntings warm the marshes.

Reed bunting Oct 2022

Dunnocks take to the hedges.

Dunnock Sept 22

And waterbirds of all sizes scurry across mudflats.

Goose and stints Titchwell 2022

These are ruff, absurd and ceremonial in their summer breeding plumage but relatively low key now.

Ruff Titchwell 2022

Except for one – this ruff is partly leucistic, hence the white feathers on its head and neck. 

Redshank leucistic Sept 22

They are visitors here; very few ruff breed in England, and most will continue on to Africa.

The mists will continue to grow.

Misty lake Oct 22

20 thoughts on “Guests on a Swirling Carpet

    1. That got me checking. Kermode bears are cream due to polymorphism in the mc1r gene, apparently. According to a scientific paper I found, it’s the same gene that causes the pale colour in Labradors! And it’s also an advantage to the bears when hunting salmon in daylight; it spooks them less.

      Liked by 1 person

  1. These shore birds look like sandpipers but I might be wrong. I was never really familiar with shore birds, that’s why San got me an online workshop on shore birds for my birthday 😀

    Liked by 1 person

      1. LOL!

        I’m not an expert on waders / shore birds either, but fortunately my group included people who are, and these are ruff Calidris pugnax. Their distribution in Europe is mostly on the northern and western coasts, with some elsewhere too. Enjoy your workshop! Someone should set one of those up for British waders…

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