I was listening to a Reed warbler singing its magical song yesterday when, surprisingly, it popped up to the top of a stem to bellow even louder. And then another bird appeared in the reeds nearby, and then two more flew in, followed quickly by yet another. As I stayed motionless, this delightful family of two adults and three fledglings flitted around in the reeds, feeding, being fed, and singing.

After watching, spellbound, for about 5 minutes, I was just about to walk on when in flew a female Reed bunting, her beak stuffed full of moth, no doubt a snack for her offspring hidden in a nest somewhere amongst the reeds. What a magical slice of life that reed bed contains!