With the creation of new shallow scrapes and the installation of Gordon's Hide at the reserve, you can now enjoy avocets 'up close' just five minutes from the car park. I took this picture through the back of my binoculars propped-up on the hide shelf - who needs £1,000 of camera equipment? Why not come and have a go yourself and enter the 'Big Picture' photo competition www.rspb.org.uk/futurescapes/greaterthames, the closing date is April 22nd.