It was Valentine's Day

The sun was out - astonishing. I'd just learned that it has rained every single day of 2026 in the UK. Somewhere in Cornwall it's rained every day for more than 40 days.

Anyway, I stood to watch the few birds present. There is a resident pair of herring gulls.And they were just standing around. Then one went toward the other and they did a subdued version of that albatross beak-clacking thing. I felt very touched.

Near them were two male mallards - although the plumage of one was slightly odd and I wondered if he was some sort of hybrid.

That made me think again about hybridity... how we try to police cross species unions. Ruddy ducks shot in case they mate with some other rare duck which people want to keep pure. Thinking of it ecologically, I suppose it is possible that some genetic diversity may be lost... but it could be gained if, for example, you end up with three species instead of two rather than one instead of two.

The strange duck flew off to where a female mallard was wandering about on the grass and every now and then I'd see the sun catch the brilliant emerald of his head and neck.