In the absence of the penduline tits, the stars of the show were a group of two or three water rails on the RSPB Bowling Green reserve, regularly showing themselves close by the footpath to the viewing platform.
They were foraging close by a pair of moorhens, and it was striking how small the rails looked in comparison. As they foraged in the part-frozen soil they often disappeared behind tussocks of grass. Sometimes only their tails were visible, looking remarkably like rabbitsscuts.