On our secret stream, not dippers or kingfishers today but miraculously, a white egret, delicately probing reeds so close we stand transfixed.

LOOK, THERE’S A DUCK. A woman drags her child past us.
The flash and blur of feathers leaves me bereft.

No, not a duck, I say. A regret.

Viv Burgess says this actually happened and is still in mourning for the lost moment.