Today's walk along the railway path betweeen Kilbirnie and Lochwinnoch took place in heavy rain so natural connections were severely limited. However a Dipper along the drainage channel beside the track bed didnt seem to mind the rain. Nor did a Woodcock which clattered away through the trees from its resting place on a wooded section of embankment. Chaffinches, Redwings, Bulfinches and Redpolls fed in the branches over the path and one of the latter was quietly picking the seeds from Reed flowers.