Sunday 20th May 2012 - Branston GP & Doxey

Circumstances meant that I was out birding on Sunday this weekend rather than my usual Saturday. Spring seemed to have finally sprung during Saturday with bits and bobs being found resulting in a far healthier pager than for the majority of spring. First destination was Branston GP's to see if yesterday's waders were still present. There was a big surprise when we found our first target bird of the visit, the three BLACK-NECKED GREBES. There were now four Black-necked Grebes. There were several Sedge Warblers singing plus a Lesser Whitethroat singing nearby. As we stood chatting with CC, we realised a fifth Black-necked Grebe was now present.

Next stop was the Sandy Pit  in the search for waders. We were just about to start scanning the pit when a message came through on the phone - BLUETHROAT at Doxey. This came as a complete surprise. We had a brief look at the pit (seeing 15 Dunlin and a few Ringies) and then it was back to the car and off to Doxey.

The journey took about an hour in total. We were told to park on Home Base car park, but unfortunately, Home Base wasn't where I thought it was, and it took a little bit longer to get to Doxey than we hoped. Luckily it was only a short walk and, and following a brief wait, we were soon watching an awesome male Red-spotted Bluethroat. Despite there being two previous records in the county, it wasn't a bird I really thought I'd ever see in Staffordshire.