Sometimes I take a picture which really pleases me and this is one, not just because its nice and sharp but I also like the pose of the bird which shows a lot of character. I had watched a pair engaged in breeding and mating activity, chasing each other around and singing their very unusual song which you can hear by clicking on the link here.

This is not a rare bird in the UK and it is in fact found in the most unlikely of countries as far east as Japan and as far south as South Africa and across Europe and Asia. I went to quite a lot of effort to get this photo, I have been watching them at this site for the last week or so and discovered where they prefer to be. I carefully made my way to there and positioned myself by a tree and wrapped came netting around the tree, myself and camera on the tripod, then it was just a case of waiting for one of them to come close, this took quite a degree of patience but in the end one was right there in front of me and very close, (at last).

At this time of the year….it's spring don't forget….they have a very distinctive song, you can listen to it here.