A week last Wednesday (10th December), I was feeling bored and fed up so I decided to take a quick trip to Welney WWT for a couple of hours or so. Weather bright and sunny with a southerly wind - ideal for photography at Welney.

The last time I was there, the water level of the River Ouse was low but much higher this time when I arrived due to the recent heavy rains and there was a lot of water fowl on the Lagoon although mostly distant but that was a start - something to aim the camera at.

I am not one of the rarity brigade, chasing all over the country to see the next tick on a list. I just enjoy taking photos of wildlife, whether rare or common. I get as much pleasure from taking a really good shot of a common species as a half-decent shot of a rarity which was just as well as only common wildfowl was on show on this occasion. There were several Whooper Swans, mostly injured birds that could not fly but one came close as the sun rose over the observatory.

On an island, there was a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits that occasionally took to the air - impressive in the morning sun.

I could not resist a few quick shots of a small group of fly-by Feral Pigeons 

and Pintails that were rather distant but worth some shots as they are my favourite duck.

That left me with the predominate species - Mallards and Pochard. I just concentrate on trying to achieve better shots than I already have. That usually results in loads of wasted frames but occasionally something different results - mating Mallards

and a really close fly-by by a drake Pochard.

In fact, I managed a few keepers that were an improvement to my library so the day was not at all wasted.