Retro – birding
Hi all – I am always interested in reading about other people’s birding trips and have recently started up my blog that can be found elsewhere on this site. However, I have been a keen birder for over 25 years and have documented my birding in around 20 A4 hard-backed note books, so I’ve decided to add some of the many highlights that I have enjoyed over the years to this page – I hope you enjoy the following stories!!
I have decided to start the recollections from 1988, as this was the year I got a reliable car and could actually drive long distances without being relayed home by the AA!!
These were pre pager and mobile phone days, so the chances of finding your own scarce birds ( e.g: rare grebes in Kent ) were greatly increased as these birds were rarely reported to the information services.
Christmas day blocker:
December 27th 1988: It was’nt the sort of news you would expect on Christmas day – American Robin at Inverbervie in Aberdeen!! – thank you Santa!! These were the days when American Robins were actually rare and this bird was definitely going to attract some quality interest. I managed to organise a lift from some lads I knew from Crawley – Darren and Mashuq. There was, however, a small problem in that Darren’s usual car was being repaired so he had a courtesy car – a Fiat Uno – and we had a full crew of 5, including Alan who was about 6 foot 4 inches tall – it was not the most comfortable of trips!! The car only had about 60 miles on the clock. I would have loved to see their faces when Darren returned it to them!!
We arrived at Inverbervie at 1:00am and pitched our tent on the first bit of grass we came across for a few hours of kip. However, on getting up at dawn we soon realised we had camped on the same area the bird was frequenting and there were around 100 scopes trained on our tent! We quickly abandoned the tent for later and joined the crowd. The bird thankfully showed straight away and was on view for the next 2 hours – a real beauty and a mega-blocker at the time! It was watched feeding on the short turf and in low trees boardering people’s gardens and everybody got good views. Whilst dismantling the tent we got news that an Arctic Redpoll had been found at Carnoustie Golf Course – we steamed down and after a bit of fieldcraft ( anyone remember those days?! ) the redpoll flock landed 40 feet away – in amongst them was a larger much paler bird that looked white in flight – especially the large unstreaked white rump.
Pleased with this we headed onto Speyside, where the crew took it in turns to have a wash etc in the chippie toilets. We camped in the forest, with a branch narrowly missing the tent in the night as it crashed to the ground!!
The next day we located 5 Crested Tits ( my third tick of the trip ) around the loch Garten area – and then it was time to head home – what a trip!
The Robin remained a blocker for around 10 years, when a bird was found on St Agnes, then a further 5 years until the mainland Cornish bird – it was at this point the rarity status of this immense yank was greatly reduced, but since my first I’ve seen another 3 birds ( Cornwall, Lincs and Yorkshire ) – always worth the effort!!
A mega winter:
So here we go again, it’s January 1989 and I had already seen the following during the month: Ring-necked duck, Surf Scoter, Iceland Gull and White-Tailed Eagle – On Friday 27/01/89 I was planning on seeing the Forster’s Tern on Angelsey and whilst I was loading up the car I got a phone call from Darren telling me he had just back from Cornwall and that the Ross’s Gull was still showing at Newlyn Harbour – a rapid change of plan was called for and the crew ( Scotty, Dave Gandy and Chris Collins ) were pleasantly surprised when I told them Angelsey was off, but Cornwall was on!!… and off we set…….
After an anxious half hour wait after first light, the 1st Winter Ross’ Gull flew into view at close range from the harbour wall, at the outfall and in the harbour – a total stunner of a gull. There was a very pale pink tinge to this bird. 3 Great Northern Divers were also present in the area. We stayed until 10:30 and returned in the afternoon where the bird was roosting on the beach. In between views we visited Copperhouse Creek to feed the 2 Ring-Billed Gulls in the car park, and saw a Black-Throated Diver on Carnsew pool – another successful trip!
However, things were just hotting up and the following week saw us heading north to Billingham, Cleveland for the reported Double-Crested Cormorant – a first for Britain. Unfortunately, in my excitement to get going I left my binoculars on the dining room table!! At dawn the entire lake was completely encircled by birders patiently waiting for the ritual fly in by the cormorant. At 8:20 am in it flew, circling a few times before landing on the lake to commence fishing. Later on it was scoped well perched on an island with wings outstretched – excellent views of this first for the Western Paleartic!
An afternoon drive across country saw us arriving at Halkyn in North Wales at 2:30 pm. 1 Marsh Tit was seen in the cemetery, then after about an hour’s wait we all got superb views of at least 8 Lady Amherst’s Pheasants in a wooded clearing viewable from the cemetery – 3 males and 5 females. One of the males was displaying by running quickly around it’s chosen female with it’s head feathers puffed out – a truly bizarre sight!!
A quick look at Llandullas in horizontal rain did’nt produce the hoped for Surf Scoter – surprise surprise!!, so we quickly found a pub and settled down for the night.
In much calmer conditions we scoured Penros from dawn, and at 8:30 am we enjoyed good views of the adult winter Forster’s Tern showing down to 15 feet before it headed off and disappeared around a headland. A Long-Tailed Duck was also present here. At South Stack 2 Ravens and 2 Choughs showed well and then after a quick cross country drive to Criccieth and a short trot down the beach, we were soon watching a female King Eider at close range, just offshore with 3 Eiders – views were good and we also saw Velvet Scoter, a few Scaup and a Little Gull – another stunning weekend, but it was just about to get better…………………
Golden-Winged Warbler in Kent – F*cking hell!! That was the awesome news on 08/02/89 just a few days after our ‘Boremorant’ twitch – 2 firsts for Britain in a week in the winter!! I managed to get the afternoon off on 09/02/89 and headed down to Larkfield, arriving at 1:00pm. The Golden-Winged Warbler was seen at 9 – 10 am, but not since, so it was dipperty dip for everyone present in the afternoon – one surreal sight was of John Tilbrook in a suit!! A Waxwing was seen in the Tesco’s car park but ultimately it was very disappointing.
11/02/89 – A cold dawn and the hordes had arrived. Birders were everywhere and I still reckon this is the biggest twitch I have ever seen. The estate had been well and truly invaded. One birder spoke about getting a train to the site arriving in the early hours and spotted a car in the car park and thought probably birders, so knocked on the window to see if he could get out of the cold to discover it was a couple on the job!! Early on the Waxwing showed very well, then at 10:30 am the Golden-Winged Warbler was relocated and complete chaos broke out. The crowd ran as one around the streets, more in panic than knowing what was going on, eventually stopping about 100 yards from the car park having done a lap of the estate!! I dived down an alleyway and soon got crippling if brief views of the bird running along a fence, proving to be a male in stunning plumage. The bird was finally pinned down to a garden where the crowds could view it occasionally in a rose bush and a roof of a house. The roads were totally blocked with birders, preventing buses and other vechiles getting through and the police showed up to ease the carnage!! Being a Kent birder I saw this bird a further 3 times over the next few weeks.
16/03/89 – ah the days before speed cameras!! A ridiculously quick drive to Pembrokeshire saw us arrive at Roch at 1:30 am in time for some kip. At dawn we fought for position at the hedge backing onto a particular garden. At 7:00 am the Northern Oriole flew in onto the bird table to feed, and what a beauty it turned out to be ! Just a bit smaller than a starling, but had quite a long tail. The orange on the underparts was most intense on the undertail coverts. It spent most of it’s time feeding on the nut feeders – what a crippler!! On the way home, Kenfig produced a few Whooper Swans and a Great Northern Diver.
A purple July:
4 days of bliss!! Starting on 08/07/89: 2 weeks earlier I had suffered a dreadful Brunnich’s Guillemot dip on Shetland I was still licking my wounds and having a lazy Saturday at home until Gary phoned me at 1:00 pm with some hot news that the new warden at Dungeness, Dave Walker, had found a Great Spotted Cuckoo in the trapping area in the morning! We steamed straight down there to join a few people milling around the trapping area – after a frantic 25 minutes the bird flew past us at 40 feet range at head height, it’s flight action slow and lazy allowing us to take in all of it’s features. During the next couple of hours we had several views of it including it perched up in a dead tree when we were back at the car!! What a bird!! I headed out to the pub in the evening to be totally floored by the news when I phoned Birdline at 11:00 pm – Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater in Yorkshire!! Too drunk to drive I went to bed………..
09/07/89 – 7:30 am, now sober, I steamed up to Humberside with Dennis at warp factor nine. We had a little trouble finding the site so I pulled into a garage to ask for help. The owner walked out and said he was shut, but I countered with whether he had seen any large crowds of birders that day, to which he replied yes! And we were only half a mile away! Twitch on!! On arrival at a large roadside crowd we soon saw the bird sitting on a sheltered perch in a nearby hedge – what an awesome bird, that looked even better in flight showing off it’s copper underwings. Over the next 3 hours we had superb views of this bird and had trouble tearing ourselves away! We popped into Blacktoft RSPB and soon got excellent views of the adult Pectoral Sandpiper close to the hide – we returned home well pleased!!
The fourth day in this 3 tick marathon saw me in Norfolk on 11/07/89, arriving at Stoke Ferry at 2:40 pm getting good views of the singing River Warbler. It’s chosen bush was only 40 feet away and it’s song was a very distinctive reel, sounding like a chuffing train sung in short phrases – July had turned purple!!
Coming soon – spring 1990 or ‘how many times can you visit the west country on consecutive weekends’ – first here’s another blocker!!…………
Red-breasted crippler:
Scillies 1989 – my third ’Scilly season’ and with high expectations we caught an early helicopter from Penzance on the Saturday morning. On arrival we all piled into the bus for Hugh Town and were waiting for the off when a breathless birder ran up to the bus, stuck his head in and shouted ‘Red-Breasted Nuthatch Norfolk!’ – we all sat in stunned silence, thinking it must be a wind-up. As we departed the bus in High Town a long queue of people could be seen outside the Scillonian office – Scillies was about to empty!!
I held on for a week, and enjoyed my holiday. I saw lots of good birds on the trip, including my first Olive-Backed Pipit, but the nuthatch was always lurking in the back of my mind. The plan was executed the following Saturday as we headed back to Kent for some kip via a Lesser Yellowlegs and Ring-Billed Gull on the Hayle, then a dawn run up to Holkham where it was immediately obvious that lots of people still needed the boy ( most like me straight from Scillies ) and that the site had been trampled flat in many places the previous week. The morning was a disaster with me missing the bird several times in the rain. I was then teased with a flight view but this just frustrated me – I would rather dip then get unsatisfactory views. Finally, seven hours after I left the car there it was in a tangle of conifer branches!! Black cap, stunning white supercilia, black eye-stripe, blue-grey upperparts and very rich orange underparts – stunner!! The Nuthatch stayed several months and towards the end of it’s stay visited some guttering to drink so rendered itself very gettable, but not in the first few weeks of it’s stay!!
London’s first for Britain:
Sunday afternoon, 04/02/90 and mind blowing news of a Naumann’s Thrush in Chingford, London!! We were hot on the trail and arrived on-site at 3:50pm to view the back of the back garden the bird had been seen in with a small crowd – we stayed until dark, but no sign. Would it be refound??
06/02/90 – YES!!! Scored the Naumann’s Thrush on the local football pitch at first light and scoped it for at least half an hour. Views were very good and at least 250 people were present – another mega!! There has since been one more record of Naumann’s Thrush in Britain – only a short distance from the first!!
Pine Bunting clear-up:
A quality weekend ‘up north’ – 03/03/90 – 04/03/90:
A dawn start at Bigwater CP near Newcastle started in confusion as on-one knew where to go!! Eventually this was sussed out and by queuing we got very close views of the female Pine Bunting feeding on seed with Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and Tree Sparrows. It looked ghostly amongst the Yellowhammers and was very easy to pick out.
A short drive to the Blyth estuary gave us good views of the Terek Sandpiper on the mud banks and just down the road at Cambois a crippling Shorelark complete with horns was located immediately on the beach, along with 24 Snow Buntings.
At Marine Lake in South Shields, the female Ring-Necked Duck was seen well, and a Kittiwake was also present on this park lake.
In Middlesborough, a Waxwing was seen very well in cotoneaster bushes boardering the main road.
With time running out, a quick look on the North York Moors yielded views of Red Grouse – with this under the belt on a superb day, we headed through the night to Norfolk and camped on Lady Anne Drive. During the night I learnt the benefit of having ( or not!! ) a decent sleeping bag and spent most of the night fully clothed, trying not to freeze to death!!
We were woken just before dawn to be told camping was’nt allowed and that we would be fined as our registration number was taken down. However, we had a hire car for the weekend and never heard anymore of that particular incident!
Into the woods and the Red-Breasted Nuthatch was seen a few times in with the tit flock and a few hundred Pink-Footed Geese fed in nearby fields.
At Cley, the regular adult Glaucous Gull showed well as well as a couple of Water Pipits before we had a pile of grease for breakfast.
Fully fuelled by this we headed out to salthouse and had great views of the Grey Phalarope swimming about on the flooded fields. 5 Shore Larks were seen here as well, but only one had horns.
Heading south to Holt a flock of 30+ Bramblings showed very well in a roadside field including at least one very smart male, and then it was further south to Mayday Farm and prolonged views of the wintering Great Grey Shrike – what a totally awesome weekend!!!
A cracking spring:
Spring 1990 or ‘how many times can you visit the west country on consecutive weekends??’
10/03/90: The first overshoot created a lot of excitement – Sardinian Warbler at Stratton, North Cornwall and the Friday night saw myself and Dave Gandy drive overnight down to the south-west. At dawn around 300 birders had assembled at Stratton, and at 6:30 am the bird showed briefly and proved to be your usual Sardinian Warbler – elusive and hard to see!! It was next pinned down in a hedge where I could see people watching it but was unsighted in my position in the crowd – AAARRGGHHHH!!!. It then flew into a close bush, but still in cover where it sang a few phrases ( a staccato rattle ), still not tickable it flew again!! Stress!! 30 minutes later it was relocated but again I was at the back of the crowd!! Dave let me in and there it was! Sardinian Warbler perched in full view on a low wire fence before flying off again! After this showing, the crowd thinned out a lot and 20 minutes later I bumped into it again in full view for several minutes – a stunning male.
17/03/90: Darren offered me a lift down to the southwest on the Friday, and we dossed down in Plymouth where Mush was at college – the land of the mega-steep hills!!
After a night sleeping on the floor we had a dawn start at Stratton where the Sardinian Warbler was easily seen in it’s chosen privet hedge. A lot less people here today!
A rapid drive down to west Cornwall to Marazion and the 2 Bonaparte’s gulls were seen very well in the bright sunshine. Nearby 30+ Purple Sandpipers were roosting at Penzance and 4 Ring-Billed Gulls were seen on the Hayle. Carnsew pool held a Red-Necked Grebe, but no Rose-Coloured Starling at the next site though we got news here of a Woodchat Shrike at Jennycliff, Plymouth. We motored down at warp factor nine and after a hectic 5 minutes the bird was relocated and showed well for the next 30 minutes.
Amazingly, news then broke of a Night Heron at a site that was visible from where we stood! ( Ramsworth Park) We burnt round and saw this adult bird roosting in full view where we all grilled it for the next hour. A Little Gull wa also seen here.
What a brilliant day!! (Despite the fact we drove over night to Dungeness for a reported Thayer’s Gull, but that’s another story………….!!)
25/03/90: Another return trip to the southwest with Denis, who still needed Woodchat Shrike. The police had a word with us in the early hours to know what we were up to – they certainly did’nt get the expected gay dogging they were hoping for!! Up at dawn we searched the area I had seen the shrike the following weekend, but no luck in the first 40 minutes so we returned to the car park for some breakfast. Immediately Denis relocated the shrike on a fencepost right next to his car!! Whilst watching the bird later on we encountered the most ignorant dog walker in the world ( I know there is some stiff competition but this bloke was an absolute winner! ) so we moved on.
At Prawle point Denis located a superb Firecrest in the car park and 2 Cirl Buntings showed well in a nearby field. Pleased with this it was time to head to Slapton where a despondent crowd stared at where the Hoopoe was last seen – I walked round the corner of the field and soon refound it!! Our efforts certainly paid off!!
We then steamed across country to Dawlish Warren, and after a long walk through the sand dunes the Great Spotted Cuckoo flew in and crippling views were the order of the day!!
Yet another crippling day out!!
02/04/90: It was now time for the cherry on the cake and the first twitchable Squacco Heron in 5 years had been found on Scillies saw myself and Denis making yet another journey into the southwest!! Our Copter flight was’nt until 11:00 am so we slept the night at Cogden beach in Dorset. At dawn we walked out to the large pool when Denis motioned for me to stop. 40 feet away on a marshy flash was a superb Black-winged Stilt and for the next 40 minutes it gave stunning views down to 20 feet – we held our breath so not to frighten it!!
It was now time to head to Penzance where I fed a first winter Ring-Billed Gull biscuits in the Copperhouse Creek carpark and Purple Sandpipers were again seen on rocks by the Jubilee pool in Penzance – then it was time for the big one!!
Our Helicopter flight only took 20 minutes and we ran down to Porthloo duck pond, but no bird in it’s chosen field – nooo!! We hurried onto Lower Moors, but again no heron!! We hurried back to Porthloo lane to see 2 birders staring into a field we had just walked past – only 15 feet away sat the Squacco Heron totally unconcerned by our presence and spent the next hour a so stalking tadpoles in the field.
One first winter Ring-Billed Gull showed on the golf course, but we could’nt locate the Bonaparte’s Gull nor the Night Heron.
Stunning!!
As Squacco Heron had not been twitchable for 5 years in Britain, this trip was seen as good value ( and still is with all the great birds we saw that day ). However, a few weeks later, another Squacco Heron turned up at Elmley RSPB only 40 minutes from my house!! ( I saw that bird twice during it’s stay ).
Ancient what???:
Late May 1990 produced some stunning vagrants to British shores – Palla’s Sandgrouse on Shetland, a twitchable Black Kite on Scillies, Alpine Accentor on the Isle of Wight and ( although suppressed at the time ) a White-Throated Robin in Wales. However, I was not prepared for the news when I phoned birdline one morning to hear a bird name at the very top of the message that I did’nt recognise – what the f*ck is an Ancient Murrelet I thought to myself? Looking up at my library I decided to start with Harrison’s Seabirds ( no ‘Google’ searches in those days! ) and there it was!! A Pacific auk in the Bristol channel on Lundy Island!! Next thought – how to get there?! I managed to book tickets for the Oldenberg on the following Sunday and then there was nothing else to do in the meantime except sweat and twitch the Alpine Accentor!!
02/06/90: An early start to catch the ferry to Lundy and it was packed!! On arrival a few of us ran up the hill from the quay ( doubt I could do that nowadays!! ) and over towards Jenny’s cove. The approach to the viewing area was very steep and slippery as the grass was wet – we had to throw ourselves to the floor to stop ourselves going over the cliff! After that excitement the Ancient Murrelet was seen well for the next hour and a half, either perched on rocks by the ‘Devil’s chimney’ or swimming below us in the bay. A completely awesome bird to see in Britain!! Later on we got good scope views of a stunning adult male Scarlet Rosefinch, looking far more attractive than the autumn ‘Grotfinch’ or ‘Scarlet Grimmo’ you are more likely to see in Britain.
As we journeyed home on flat seas, several birders were sleeping on the deck, when out of nowhere a freak wave broke over the boat – well, it amused me at the time!
Vireo Mayhem:
On Thursday 20/09/90 I phoned Birdline from work in the afternoon to hear the surreal news that a Yellow-Throated Vireo had been found in Cornwall!! I was offered a lift by Chris Ball from Crawley, so we bombed down that evening. At 2:00 AM we stopped at Exeter services and found it mostly full of birders! After an hour’s kip in the car we walked down the Kendijack valley and took position with a sizable crowd. The gloom gradually cleared and all eyes scanned the large bush behind the white cottage where the bird had last been seen. Chris caught a glimpse of something but could’nt be sure, but 10 mintes later there it was in full view – an awesome Yellow Throated Vireo!! Over the next hour and a half we had good views on and off – a superbly bright bird. We returned again between 12:00 and 1:00 where the light was almost as brilliant as the bird!
A Leach’s Petrel was a bonus from St Ives and we drove home well happy. On arriving home we learnt there had been a Red-Eyed Vireo in the Cot valley as well! Chris drove back to Cornwall that night!
Blackpool Bittern:
Saturday 02/02/91 news broke of an American Bittern at Marton mere in Blackpool. In Kent it was a mild winter’s day, quite warm with lovely blue skies. We thought nothing of it as we got ready for the overnight drive.
F*ck me! Blackpool was freezing!! Snow and ice were everywhere and it was immediately obvious that several southern birders had not calculated this before leaving home including me! I thought my feet were going to drop off! Several hundred birders had turned up and there was no sign of the bittern in the frozen wasteland that was Marton Mere. 3 Long-eared owls were seen extremely well roosting in some path-side bushes.
At 10:00am, just before I thought I was going to succumb from the cold we saw some birders running from the far side of the mere – panic!! Birders formed a gigantic snake down the footpath but a bottle-neck had formed by a stile – I’d like to see fat birders having to wait instead of blocking things up for us fitter birders! I took a short cut across the concrete lip of the mere but slipped and was luckily saved from an icy dunking by a birder who threw his hand out just in the nick of time! Cheers! The crowd surrounded a ditch but due to crowd pressure I could’nt see the bird properly so moved to the other side and got 10 minute’s worth of good views. As the crowd dispersed I got crippling views including Questar views as the bird ate several frogs in quick succession – another awesome bird!!
To Wick and back………..
A mainland twitchable Harlequin Duck was always going to attract a lot of interest, even if it’s chosen site was only a stone’s throw from John O’Groat’s!! So Friday 15/02/91 saw myself, Chris Ball, Paul Chapman and Greg Brinkley making the long pilgrimage north through the rush hour traffic.
After a 13 hour drive in the hire car we arrived at Wick at 7:45 am. Within 10 minutes we had the female Harlequin Duck perched up on rocks, then over the next few hours we also had it up and down the stream with Goldeneyes.
A few Black Guillemots and Long-Tailed Ducks were present in the harbour and a first winter Iceland Gull was seen well perching on street lights. We headed south, picking up a few ‘Rock’ doves, and at Embo pier we had Velvet Scoter, all 3 divers, Purple Sandpiper and a flock of Snow Buntings.
We slept in Grantown overnight and then birded the woods. 1 female Capercaille was flushed from the footpath and 3 Crested Tits provided a welcome diversion.
No Golden Eagle in the Findhorn Valley, but a Hen Harrier and a few Dippers were seen.
We headed rapidly south to Tayport and quickly picked out the wintering drake King Eider in with a large flock of Eiders. A gorgeous adult.
At Lower Largo, Scaup and Velvet Scoters were very close inshore and we also picked out a Red-Necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe and a Black-Throated Diver. The best birds, however, were 2 Surf Scoters showing down to 75 yards, so blinding views were had. It was now getting dark and was time for the long trip south, but what a weekend!!.
Larking about………..:
More quality in 1991 when a Lark Sparrow was found at Waxham. Norfolk. A hastily organised half day saw myself and Denis connecting with this crippler on the Thursday afternoon of 16/05/91 and the sparrow proved to be a Friday night flitter so the holiday was a wise investment. Stress was caused by being stuck in roadworks for 30 minutes only a few miles from the site!! The sparrow showed well either feeding on the ground or calling from hay bales. An attractive bird. 2 Cranes were watched feeding nearby in a roadside field.
A mega jam-in………..:
It was Scilly season again in 1991 and at first light myself, Scotty and Denis were watching an adult Ring-Billed Gull on the Hayle on 12/10/91 before getting the ferry to Scillies. On arrival in Hugh Town a Hummingbird Hawk Moth was seen on the wall of the Atlantic Inn and after dumping our stuff we steamed up to Pungies Lane for the Isabelline Shrike and soon had good views of it perched in bushes by a dry stone wall. As we stood watching, someone 50 yards away shouted up to us – they had just found an Eye-Browed Thrush!! We quickly moved into position and soon got excellent views of this bird perched in a pine tree!! What a piece of luck!! A slow wander into town produced 2 Red-Breasted Flycatchers, 2 Rose-Coloured Starlings and a Red-Backed Shrike – what an excellent start to a week on Scillies!!!
Home via Yorkshire….
Despite a storming week on Scillies, 2 birds we needed had turned up on the mainland – Desert Warbler and Nutcracker, so our route home to Kent on 19/10/91had a bit of a northern bias to it! Flying off at midday we stormed up the country and arrived at Stoke around 5:00pm. As we drove past the garden, we could see the Nutcracker on the lawn from the car!! After a hurried bit of parking we had views down to a few feet for the next hour – an amazingly confiding bird, and one that is surprisingly rare. There has been only one twitchable bird since this one ( and that was in the home county so was nailed straight away ). Still, we had to continue our drive north and spent the night sleeping in a car park at Flamborough Head. Soon after dawn, the Desert Warbler showed well for over an hour and most of the observers were fresh from Scilly. Views were down to 20 feet in it’s chosen Hawthorn. Happy with this we headed home for a rest!!!
At this time I was an assistant Cub Scout leader, and the May bank holiday saw me co-leading a camp at Downe in Kent. The Sunday morning of 30/05/93 saw a bit of camp cooking and fancy dress - however, this soon turned to shit when news of a Pacific Swift at Cley broke! Chaos!! Rare swifts never stick, and that's the law, but I'd rather try than be tortured by reports of the bird if it stuck - I had to get away!! One piece of luck as my car was at home was managing to get a lift home and as I was getting my kit together, my dad decided to join me - we were off!! Updates of the bird reached the pager every 20 minutes as the M11 and A11 resembled the wacky races with cars screaming up the country at 90 mph ( or greater!! ) overtaking at every opportunity! More than one close call was observed! We guessed that Cley would be gridlocked ( which it was ) so we headed in via Salthouse and this proved to be a very good decision! We joined the huge crowd and got straight onto the Pacific Swift - Raaaa!!! We arrived at 3:30pm and the bird departed at 4:15 pm when it dropped behind a hide never to be seen again!! Jammy or what!! People were still arriving from all over the country as we walked away - I was back at the camp by 7:00pm ( the drive home was a bit more sedate! ). Another bird I had seen in China a few weeks before!!
How tame???
09/09/93:Warp factor 9 to Portland Bill straight from work on a half day holiday. After a frantic dash we arrived at the Slopery to discover that the Yellow-Breasted Bunting was showing down to a few feet and could be seen without the aid of optics by lying on the ground!! A total cracker!!It spent most of it's time crawling about in long grass, occasionally coming out onto the path - Awesome!!
So close, yet so far!!
The bank holiday weekend of 29/08/92 saw 6 of us heading up to Norfolk for Gary Howard’s stag weekend. We had 3 great days of birding, but nothing too startling – a Red-Necked Phalarope at Cley was the highlight. We were staying at Burnam Deepdale, so on 31/08/92 as we headed to Minsmere for the day we were all rather pissed off that Sub-alpine Warbler had been found at Holme, just a short drive from where we were staying!! Our carload, however, managed a detour to Strumpshaw for blinding views of an Osprey very close to the visitor centre – nice! Once we had regrouped at Minsmere, news broke that the Sub-alp had been re-ided as a Ruppell’s Warbler!! There was much swearing from the crew, but little interest in burning back up to Norfolk – with news that the bird was still present on the Tuesday morning, I booked a half day’s holiday and drove back up to North-West Norfolk – a little bit like ‘Groundhog Day’!! Viewing was restricted as the bird was frequenting an open area in a large copse, so I had to queue for over an hour before getting my turn in the viewing gallery. Fortunately, the Ruppell’s showed quickly and well in it’s chosen bramble bush in the bright sun-shine and ample reward for the hasty return trip to Norfolk – I believe this bird was a Friday night leaper………………..
Hermit crush!!
16/10/93 we arrived on Scillies for our annual holiday and the big news was that the Hermit Thrush on Tresco was still performing. I was a bit surprised to see so many people wander into town to sort out their accommodation – this was a top rare and we jumped straight onto the first tripper boat to Tresco ( such a laid back attitude will lead to failure – mark my words!! ). On arrival it was obvious the bird would be tricky as there was a huge crowd in it’s favoured area. We headed away from the mayhem and located it a few hundred yards from where all the excitement was – a very smart thrush showing very well feeding on the under storey beneath the pine trees by the monument, and the second one I had seen in Britain, after the Agnes bird of 1987. The day ended well with Upland Sandpiper and American Golden Plover – a great start to our trip!!
The holy grail…………..
If you are relatively new to birding / twitching then it will be differcult to convey the hysteria that surrounded a twitchable Red-Flanked Bluetail in Dorset in 1993. Back in these days this was a 5 star mega that few active twitchers had managed to catch up with, and probably held a similar mystique that Wallcreeper now holds for British rarity hunters ( If some smart arse wants to come back to me with ‘well I saw the Hastings/Cheddar bird’, well whoopee-do – at least I know you’re older than me!! )
When the news of this monster unblocker broke, I was leading a scout hill walking trip in the Black Mountains – absolutely no escape – the pressure was on to whether the boy would hang on!! Monday, back at work, and knowing all my regular crew members had scored the day before in scenes that left grown men sobbing because they could’nt view the bird, news broke that it was still there!! It was November, the bird was in Dorset and I was in Dartford – would it be possible on a half day’s holiday? I left Dartford at 11:50 am with Steve Nixon and after an extremely brisk drive, we arrived at Winspit at 2:30 pm – twitch on! We hurried down the valley, but there was no sign of the Bluetail currently – there were a surprisingly large number of birders on site ( I dread to think what Sunday was like!! ). A few Bramblings showed well, but the light was starting to go the Bluetail was picked up in Sycamore trees behind the cottage. Absolutely mindblowing with the broad orange wash to the flanks and the metallic blue tail and rump – stunning bird! A little later we relocated it in a quiet corner where it showed very well until a robin steamed it. Fantastic!! Since that awesome twitch, I’ve seen a further 3 Bluetails – in Cornwall, Kent and Suffolk, but none of these produced the same excitement of that long awaited first!!
First tick of 1994……………….
………………was on 01/01/94!! Avoiding all the usual New year’s celebrations, I left Dartford at 1:30 am for the long drive to Angelsey with a full crew of 5 in my trusty little Astra! It was a very cold night, and the cross-country section through Wales was particularly tricky as the roads were really icy. We came across on car that had mis-judged a bend and was stuck halfway up a bank. Anyway, we arrived safely at 7:30am on a minor road just outside of Holyhead and joined the 300 strong crowd scanning the field the Killdeer was in the evening before, but to no avail!! At 8:30am the bird silently materialised in the same field and showed well for the next hour and a half and proved to be a total crippler!! A spin around the local area produced 2 Choughs, Ravens, a Slavonian Grebe and a couple of Great Northern Divers. We broke up the journey home with crippling views of a Dipper by the main road in Betys-cowd – a superb trip out!!
Essex gets a mega!!
On 29/09/94, news of a Red-Throated Thrush broke around 2:00 PM. I bailed out of work immediately and was on site by 3:45PM. Despite a large turn-out there was no further sign of this bird in the Walton-on-Naze area by dusk. D’oH!!
01/10/94: A dawn raid saw me watching the Red-Throated Thrush feeding on the grass and perched in various trees on the cliff edge before flying off inland. Views were very good and I left well happy with this mega under the belt!!
Scillies produces the goods…………..
It was 19/10/94 and I was on the Isle of Sillies for my annual holiday. The previous days had produced Black Duck and Radde’s Warbler as well as some scarce migrants, and I was having a gentle wander around St Mary’s. 2 Red-Breasted Flycatchers showed well in Holy Vale and a Red-Backed Shrike obliged up on the golf course. As I walked back down through Holy Vale I glanced at my pager……’YELLOW-BROWED BUNTING AGNES’ was the breath-taking news!! I was off, running downhill towards the quay to join the massive scrum for boats, whilst trying to catch my breath at the same time.
Anyone who thinks the crowd for the recent White-Crowned Sparrow was bad obviously was’nt present on St Agnes that evening!! It was carnage in the road adjacent to the old obs garden and the majority of the crowd failed to see the bird as it was keeping to cover in an overgrown part of the garden. The journey back to Mary’s was largely in silence, praying this bird would stay another day………….
The early morning was painful. I’d had a bit of a beer frenzy in Hugh Town the night before and was now lying in my sleeping bag on the Garrison trying to get the motivation to get going despite a pounding hang-over! Breakfast at the Porthcressa sorted me out and I got the 9:45 AM boat to Agnes ( the fifth one that morning! ). After queuing for 2 and a half hours ( and, I admit shamefully that I was behind people that had twitched on that morning! ) I finally got to enter the garden and took my position next to Kris Webb ( or ‘Spider’ as some of you will know him as ). I managed to scope the Yellow-Browed Bunting for a full 16 minutes and it proved to be a real stunner as it crawled about in the weeds – result!!
However, the excitement was’nt over, and the drive home to Kent required a minor detour to Rockcliffe in Cumbria. Gary’s wife Jenny did’nt seem too keen but still ended up doing some of the driving!. I had spent the week camping and my feet had got wet and not properly dried out. As we passed Liverpool I decided to remove my socks and got a chorus of ‘What’s that stink??’ as my potentially trench foot ridden feet were exposed to the air.
After 2 hours of searching, the Greater Yellowlegs appeared on the receeding tide and showed well for the next 1.5 hours – a worthwhile diversion even though we were badly positioned for a Pied Wheatear in Kent ( a species I still need for Kent ).
Burghead AND bust!!
29/11/94 and at 1:00 am in the morning our car blew it’s head gasket at Carlisle – Bollocks!! We had no way of getting to the Grey-Tailed Tattler so spent the rest of the day being relayed home by the AA – joy!!
03/12/94 –Ding! Ding! Round 2!! We left for Scotland at 6:30 PM on the Friday evening, and, after a gruelling journey ( that did’nt involve multiple speed traps or helicopter chases!! ) we arrived at Burghead, Grampian at 5:00 AM in the morning, so managed to catch a few zeds. At 8:00AM we joined the truly massive turn-out of 500+ ( usually reserved for Sunday afternoon Wrynecks at Dungeness ) and got crippling views of the Grey-Tailed Tattler which spent a lot of time sorting out the local Redshanks ( unfortunately, a few weeks later it was’nt so lucky when it confronted a Sparrowhawk……). In the nearby harbour as we watched the local sea birds, Gary managed to get most of his egg roll down his trousers!!
At Findhorn bay we eventually picked out the Surf Scoter amongst the large numbers of commoner ducks, then it was off to Findhorn valley where we ended the day with Peregrine, 2 Dippers and a Golden Eagle – another quality day out!!
To the ends of the earth…………..
Unst is a long way from Kent. Actually, it’s a very, very long way from Kent. No, scrap that, it’s an unbelievably long way from Kent – but still we travelled there on the last year Albert the Black-Browed Albatross was in residence.
In the early morning of 14/04/95 we arrived at the Ythan estuary, and after a bit of searching we all had good views of the drake King Eider, feeding with a large group of Eiders. It was then time to fly to Shetland, and at 10:15AM we were at Sumburgh airport and on the road. En route to Unst we had lots of Black Guillemots, a few Rock Doves and several Great Skuas. Then it was time for the long uphill walk to Hermaness, where, mercifully, the Black-Browed Albatross was present on it’s chosen ledge and showed really well – a totally awesome sight in Blighty!! We spent the next hour or so enthralled with this major rare, buffeted by the wind and the rain. Well pleased with this we hit the bar!!
The next morning, near our B&B on Yell we headed onto Fetlar, but had no luck with Snowy Owls, though as we arrived on the Mainland we scored an Otter – Raaaa!!! 9 Great Northern Divers were present at Sand Voe, and at Tresta Voe we had a King Eider and an amazing flock of 42 Slavonian Grebes.
On 16/04/95 we birded around the Sumburgh area, seeing 2 Green-Winged Teals at Scatness, then en route to Lerwick some of us had a Red Grouse. Then it was all over! Our epic trip was at an end! We flew back to Aberdeen and began the long trek home. We stopped at Largo and had a very productive hour here – a second winter Iceland Gull, 2 Surf Scoters and 5 Black-Throated Divers were the pick of the bunch. We finally arrived home at 2:30 AM, though later that morning I travelled down to Dungeness to see the Sub-Alpine Warbler that had turned up on the RSPB reserve (!).
1996
This year stands out as the year I managed my highest ever year list – find out how many by reading the following!!
Believe it or not, for the first few months I didn’t set out to do a big list, but 1996 was so good throughout I knew I was onto something special by June, and really pushed the boat out from late August, connecting with most major rarities and year ticks during this period. Here are some of the trips I did during that year………
01/01/1996; First trip of 1996 saw myself, my dad and Denis Willett at Dungeness surrounded by mist! However, we soon located 4 Bewick’s Swans in roadside fields and soon after this the mist lifted – at Hooker’s pit we had good views of the 3 Penduline Tits and 23 Smew on the RSPB reserve. A quick look at the toilet block area near Greatstone produced an adult Med Gull and the trapping area produced good views of the wintering Yellow-Browed Warbler. 30+ Scaup were present at Scotney and 10 Hawfinches were located at Bedgebury. With time on our side we headed home via Dartford marsh and quickly located the Barn Owl, hunting around the firework factory – an excellent start to the year!!
06/01/1996: An early start saw the ‘A’ team ( Me, Gary Howard, Mike Cotterel and John Tilbrook ) arrive at Ferrybridge in Dorset at 7:30 am. We had to put in some time but eventually the Forster’s Tern appeared and landed less than 40 feet away, giving everyone excellent views – nice! In the harbour we saw Great Northern Diver, 3 Slavonian Grebes and a Shag. The rest of the day was spent at Gloucester land fill until dusk where we dipped on the Franklin’s Gull present in the morning –D’oH!!
07/01/1996: A trip to Ramsgate with John Tilbrook saw us connecting straight away with 7 Waxwings near a petrol station – 1996 was an exceptional year for this species and I went on to see Waxwings every weekend until mid April! Stunning birds!
At Stodmarsh, a Bittern was seen in flight, 3 Water Pipits were around the Oxbow and at dusk we were treated to 5 Hen Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Woodcock, 1 Peregrine and a Bewick’s Swan – another good day out!!
The previous weeks had produced a smattering of winter species, but on 01/02/1996 I did a dawn raid on David Close in Peterborough and had stunning views of the male Black Throated Thrush that was wintering in the gardens there – a new bird for me, though I had previously seen the Red-Throated Thrush in Essex that is still lumped with Black Throated. I arrived back at work at 10:00am!!
03/02/1996 and time for a clean-up of Norfolk! Winter birding in Norfolk can be stunning and this trip only re-enforced that view!! 5 in the car today and first stop was the area behind the Rainbow store in Cromer and, by the water authority compound we had a flock of Mealy Redpolls that contained at least 3 superb Arctic Redpolls and the immature Serin that had a very vivid yellow rump and a yellow wash around the face. A great start and a short time later we were watching 20+ Waxwings in a Sheringham Garden, stripping out a tree of it’s monster sized berries. At Gramborough Hill the Snow Bunting flock preformed well, including 1 very smart male, and a nearby ditch in Cley village had a showy Jack Snipe, bouncing up and down along the reedy edges – great views of a usually skulky species. Titchwell held the regular Black-Winged Stilt, 2 Velvet Scoters and a Scaup, whilst at Snettisham we ended the day with 4 Whooper Swans and a Little Auk – what a quality day out!
11/02/1996 and a crisp winter’s morning in the Ashdown Forest wouldn’t be complete without a Great Grey Shrike, so we were not disappointed with the views we had of this scarce wintering species perching on top of trees from the Gill’s lap car park. We headed home via Crowborough for 2 Waxwings and a showy Jack Snipe at Bough Beech, along with Goosander and a Little owl.
17/02/1996 – we started the day heading out towards Wales and yesterday’s reported Summer Tanager – however, news was quickly received that it was an escaped Weaver, so we had to decide how to spend the day…….first step was to dip a Hoopoe in Surrey, but scored a couple of Woodlarks at Thursley common. From a toilet window stake-out in Liphook, the wintering Ring Ouzel showed very well, then we headed back east to West Dean woods in Sussex. After a lot of arsing about we eventually found the site and got straight onto a Red Kite. A little later the Rough-Legged Buzzard flew in and perched in a convenient tree before dropping back into the wood – some quality year ticks under the belt today!
18/02/1996 – another day out with John Tilbrook. On a Woolwich housing estate we quickly located 19 Waxwings, looking oddly ot of place in such a run-down area. We then decided to head down to Dungeness, breaking the journey up at Brookland’s lake at New Hythe and had a fantastic 20 minute spell here! 8 Smew ( 2 drakes ) and a Red-Necked Grebe were seen well, but the icing on the cake was a superb Bittern that flew across the lake at close range!
As we continued down to Dunge, the pager informed us of a Great White Egret on the Pevensey levels, so steamed straight down, arriving at 11:00am The local farmer was having a bit of a stress about the number of cars parked near his farm, but we hurried onto the levels and soon got good views of the egret in flight and perched in the open. Now it was time to head to Dunge!! Skirting around Hastings, John noticed 2 birders staring into a roadside tree. We stopped – 15 more Waxwings!! Near Camber we had excellent views of a Black-Necked Grebe and 2 Slavonian grebes on a small pool and 130 Scaup at Scotney. Another cracking day out!!
24/02/1996 – Myself, Gary and Denis left home at 4:30 am and arrived in Nottingham city centre at 7:00 am. A large crowd had assembled, and at 7:15 am 20 Waxwings flew over. At 7:40 am a truly awesome flock of 250 Waxwings flew in and landed in a tree by the Elf garage. Although a few observers later claimed they saw the Cedar Waxwing, the majority of observers failed to see it before the flock dispersed – bollocks!! 45 minutes later news broke it had been relocated in the south of the city – wacky races!!! I ditched the car and we ran to the site where 100s of Waxwings were staking out a line of berry bushes. After a short, tense wait the Cedar Waxwing was picked up and gave excellent views perched up with the main Waxwing flock.
Nearby we had cracking views of a male Ring Ouzel in a small rest garden, and at Colwick C.P stunning views of a Red-Necked Grebe on a small lake. Lunch was spent at Peterborough watching the Black-Throated Thrush scoffing berries on the drive of 21 David’s Close.
Well pleased with this we headed south through Bedford to Stewartby lake and immediately picked up the Great Northern Diver. A little while later Gary located the Slavonian Grebe and with this we left for home well pleased with our haul!!
01/03/1996 – arriving on site at Tattershall bridge, Lincs, we couldn’t believe how narrow the river was! When we caught up with the White-Billed Diver the views were breath-taking!! It could swim faster than we could walk! I even noticed blue-grey legs and feet with pinky webs to the toes. It was oiled on it’s left flank and spent a lot of time roll preening. The next day the bird unfortunately swallowed some fishing tackle and died in care. Nearby a female goosander and Slavonian Grebe were seen on the same river. En route home awesome views of a Bittern and Water Rail at Fisher’s Green, Lee Valley CP.
10/03/1996 – Back to Nottingham again and soon after arrival myself and Dad got good views of the Cedar Waxwing, again in with a few hundred Waxwings.
Next stop was Bleasby and the male Rehead was watched for the next hour and a half on the small lake here – the first record for Britain. The crowd here was massive!! The Great Northern Diver was seen again at Stewartby on the way home as was the Barn Owl at Dartford.
16/03/1996 – Gary had been unable to travel up for the Redhead last weekend, so I joined him and JT on another trip to Nottingham! The Redhead was seen well again and then we decided to head up to Sheffield, where, despite the sleet, we all got good views of the male Pine Bunting in a muddy field at Harthill reservoir ( my fourth sighting in the UK ). We left this site wet and cold and enjoyed a first winter Iceland Gull at Staveley landfill site.
Back to Nottingham where I enjoyed ‘thirds’ of the Cedar Waxwing in with the massive Waxwing flock again!!
Heading south we had Bean Goose, and wild swans on the Ouse washes – another great trip!
23/03/1996 – a day looking for early migrants, and in Kent that usually means a trip to Dungeness – so off we went!! Along Kerton Road we stopped to investigate a bird JT had seen ( we never forund out what it was! ) but found 3 Black Redstarts and a Wheatear. At the toilet block Dave Miller located 9 Wheatears on the beach. Along the long pits we had a stunning Firecrest and a sum plum Black-Necked Grebe on the RSPB reserve. Shortly after this I relocated the first winter Glaucous Gull and we all enjoyed good views. A Sandwich Tern flew past and Gary located a Red-Necked Grebe. Near Hooker’s pit, Dave found an excellent Little Owl roosting under some battered corrugated iron. It was now 3:30 pm and we decided to twitch a reported Bluethroat at Cuckmere Haven. We arrived at 4:40 pm and all thought we may have left it a bit late…….as we arrived at the spot we saw that Chris Ball was also on site and after about 15 minutes the bird emerged from it’s chosen path side bush – a stunning male white-spotted Bluethroat giving stunning views on and off until 6:00 pm – what a finish to the day!!
29/03/1996 – After a brief Little Owl en route, we arrived at Sidlesham, Sussex at 9:30 am and after about a 30 minute wait looking at Tree Sparrows, the Little Bunting flew in and eventually gave good views feeding with 2 Reed Buntings. Little else of note was seen during the day.
05/04/1996 – Another trip down to Dungeness produced the usual mix of birds, but the highlight today was further west at Pevensey, where a superb adult Purple Heron was hunting voles in a roadside ditch, allowing an extremely close approach! Stunning! A few Waxwings were had nearby at Bexhill-on-Sea, and a Common Crane showed distantly on the Isle of Sheppey at Muswell Manor in the evening.
09/04/1996 – an afterwork trip with my Dad saw us heading up to Tyttenhanger gravel pits in Herts where we enjoyed superb views of the drake Lesser Scaup down to 30 feet. On a nearby flooded area of gravel 2 Little Ringed Plovers showed well.
13/04/1996 – Having endured a shopping trip at Thurrock in the morning, I was glad to get out and do some birding in the afternoon. First stop was Abbot’s Cliff and I was soon getting good views of the female Bluethroat in gorse near the derelict building. An excellent bird to see in Kent. I then headed up to Stodmarsh and saw the Green-Winged Teal from the Marsh hide – unfortunately I did’nt look too closely at the coots in the main dyke by the Lampden wall………………
14/04/1996 – An awesome 7 hour drive saw all 5 of us scoring great views of the 2 female Harlequin Ducks perched on rocks near Girvan in Ayrshire. We spent the next 3 hours here, enjoying these mega ducks. A sum plum Black-Throated Diver was present on the sea.
16/04/1996 – an afterwork trip to Footscray Meadows quickly turned into a mission when news broke at 6:07 pm of an American Coot at Stodmarsh. Less than an hour later I arrived in the carpark and hurried down to the small crowd on the Lampden Wall. We had to wait 20 minutes until it swam into view and gave good views to the assembled crowd. The undoubted highlight was Gary Howard running up to us out of breath, and exclaiming that the bird ‘was beautiful!’ as he got his first view – probably suffering from oxygen starvation!
19/04/1996 – a dawn start at St Just aerodrome saw our crew waiting impatiently for news on yesterday’s Calandra Lark on St Agnes – unfortunately it was negative so we headed for home. At Lopwell dam 3 of the crew got good views of the sum plum Spotted Sandpiper, but 1 member ( a proper twitcher ) couldn’t be bothered to get out of the car! Why???? Next we hit South Huist marsh and it’s spanking Red-Rumped Swallow, performing hunting sallies from a convenient fence – it was nice to see a couple of decent birds today.
21/04/1996 – early morning gave me good views of the Grasshopper Warbler at Dartford, then a quick jaunt to Tringford res in Herts where the Spotted Crake showed well on and off – very pleasing to get a spring bird.
24/04/1996 – An afterwork trip saw myself and dad head up to Upware in Cambs and carefully scan the massive flock of Golden Plovers in roadside fields. I eventually located the Pacific Golden Plover and we enjoyed good views sat in the car
27/04/1996 – A massive day out on my own saw me start at Stodmarsh where the American Coot and Green-Winged Teal both showed well. Down to Pegwell and the Osprey was watched perched on posts and fishing in the sea. Onto Sandwich where there was no sign of the Dotterels seen there yesterday, then back to Stodmarsh. 4 Hobbies and a Whinchat were seen near to Collard’s lake, but when I was back on the Lampden wall a superb Spoonbill flew over and drifted east down the valley. Then I got a pager alert – Short-Toed Lark at Sandwich. Whoooshh! I was off and soon getting excellent views of the lark on the golf course – a great bonus! As I got close to home, I got another alert – Grey Phalarope at Cliffe – a hectic detour saw me watching this delightful bird on the Black Barn Pools – another superb day out!
28/04/08 – an unhurried start to the day began at Knole Park and a few Tree Pipits and Redstarts were easily seen. As I walked back to the car, news broke of 2 Night Herons at Dungeness – I was off on the trail!! 1 bird showed well in the open on arrival until it joined the other bird in cover.
30/04/1996 – a Wood Warbler seen afterwork at Littlebrook Lake, Dartford, singing it’s little heart out!
04 – 06/05/1996 – The traditional Dungeness bank holiday saw 8 of us taking over the observatory for the duration of the weekend. It’s always fun, but one word of warning – once you leave the dormitory in the morning don’t return as the smell of the night-time flatulence can be over-powering and has made some people sick in years’ gone by!!!
Back to the birds……………A few of us started off at Scotney where 2 Eygptian geese made it onto my Kent list and a Spoonbill flew over. 6 Scaup were still present, but then we got a phone call and steamed down to Rye. A hurried walk saw us soon admiring a corking male Ortolan Bunting, at times feeding on the footpath. We had a very late breakfast after this!!
During sea-watching in the afternoon news broke of a Night Heron at Lade pits – the hide emptied and we all rushed to the site to enjoy views of this bird in the open – nice!! ( The next morning we saw 2 birds here…..).
The rest of the day was spent sea-watching and the highlights were as follows: 3 Velvet Scoters, 2 Long-Tailed Ducks, 2 Shags and 14 Pomarine Skuas.
11/05/96 – a solo trip into west London netted me quality views of a female Red-Necked Phalarope on Staines Moor – what a superb bird!! I then headed south to Pagham for an obliging Temminck’s Stint, then a long walk at Rottingdean to connect with 5 Dotterels in a humungus field that could have hidden a 1000 Dotterel!!
14/05/96 – an afterwork bash ‘up north’ saw myself and Barry Wright get rewarded with good views of the Collared Pratincole hawking over Summerleys NR, Northants.
15/05/96 – another afterwork trip, this time to Dungeness where the male Woodchat Shrike gave good views in the desert. A White-Headed Duck was present on the ARC pit.
27/05/96 – a day of contrasts! The morning was spent in East Kent watching 3 Marsh Warblers singing at their now defunct breeding spot, whilst the evening was spent watching Cannibal Corpse live in concert, where I got a right good pasting in the pit!!
31/05/96 – another afterwork trip, this time with Gary and Jenny Howard to see the superb male Little Bittern at Epsom common. We had 10 minutes of this bird perched in full view before it retreated into cover – excellent !!