We have had a few cold nights recently with frost and ice on puddles. On a cold afternoon I noticed this pied wagtail (Motacilla alba) hunting on the ice.
It is a pity I didn't shoot a video as it was struggling to keep its feet.
Then I noticed a grey wagtail (Motacilla) a metre away on the ice.
It was also slip slidin' away, as Paul Simon would say.
I was surprised there was anything there for them to eat.
But then the grey wagtail found an enormous caterpillar. Quite what that was doing in the ice I don't know.
The grey wagtail (Motacilla cineraria) is more associated with upland streams and rivers but these photos were taken on the lake near the walled garden at Wallington Hall.
These birds were feeding two chicks.
As with other wagtails, recent years have seen a population decline and the grey wagtail is now on the amber list.
Despite this decline, the Bird Atlas shows that grey wagtails are still found throughout most of the British Isles.
Read more about the grey wagtail here. Listen to Chris Packham's BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day on the grey wagtail here.
