Stonechats On Ice

Last week I revisited a local area where I had previously seen  stonechats and I was determined to obtain some decent images of these beautiful little birds. The severe wintry weather was still with us  and I hoped the birds had survived the Arctic conditions. I know that stonechat are very likely not to survive in prolonged cold spells such as we are currently experiencing. The birds were indeed still around and I was able to obtain some wonderful images of both male and female stonechat as they perched and posed on the vegetation surrounding a largely frozen over lake.
I spent the next hour and a half with the birds as I realised that both birds were visiting a hole in the ice to obtain food. What I observed was amazing behaviour as both birds fed from this hole in the ice. What they were feeding on was a revelation as they extracted their prey from the water and I will keep my readers in suspense until my next posting when I will post more details and images from this memorable visit to my local patch. Meanwhile I am posting a few images of the birds on the ice and posing in the afternoon sun on bankside vegetation.