Paper bag

One of the two Shags are Carsington this week, popular birds for a county as landlocked as Derbyshire. A nice showy pair with a rich warmth to the brown hue of their juvenile plumage that's a bit lost on this digiscope effort.

Perhaps shows the Pythonesque nature of birding, to Joe Public they look indistinguishable from the Cormorants of which we have plenty, to birdwatchers they're a reason to get excited.
Hobby through on the day too, a couple of hours after Tuesday's ABB, and a rise in duck numbers whispering about the change of seasons.

Been treated at work lately with a family of Treecreepers taking to the big Cedar of Lebanon next to the gatehouse at Hardwick. Rare? No. Spectacular? No. Lovely? Oh yes.

...and substituting for a rocky coastal island, the draw off tower, current home to Carsington's two Shags.