Was it worth it?

I've written before about the micro-reserve that Rich and Nic have set up near our home. By this time of year the birds have got through a lot of the seed from the sacrificial crop (they start in early autumn - even late summer), and so R&N undertake some supplementary feeding. For me the advantage is that birds are coming to food in more open areas than the densely pack stems of the crop. Numbers of finches fell away during the snow, and with the milder weather haven't picked up again yet, but I thought I'd have a bash at snapping a few birds. Using my bargain (£5) Woolworths camouflage pattern tent as a hide after a while some birds did come down, of which the greenfinch and reed bunting were new for me in the field.



The trouble with my bargain (£5) Woolworths camouflage pattern tent is that it isn't long enough for me to lie flat. So there I was lying slightly downhill, arching my back to look through the viewfinder with the camera on a bag, my legs held, knees flexed, so my ankles were hovering over my back. Fine at the time, but boy has my back complained over the last 2 days! I know all the modern advice - keep going, it's only pain - not harm, etc. But it does hurt! Still I do quite like the potential of the last bunting shot, so I'll just have to get out some scissors before I try again.