Easter was largely forgettable due to the endless NW air stream that resulted in migrants being held up. A tantalising and teasing ROCK THRUSH was almost in our grasps twice but there were endless issues with boat times, seat availabilities on planes, inter island boats etc. We nearly managed to get over on Good Friday and Easter Monday but on both occasions we missed out on booking suitable flights. For the Easter Monday flight, we were waiting for news all day on Easter Sunday (and CJW checking flight availability almost constantly) before we booked and it never came. Experience showing, luck or just experience showing? I like to think it was experience showing and remembering not to make any rash hasty decisions when it comes to twitching / trip organisation.
Anyway. On to birds then on to the arguments you all want to hear about!
Good Friday and Easter Saturday was spent trawling round various sites in Staffs looking for migrants, self found rarities and megas and firsts for Britain etc. Unfortunately, I failed on all accounts. But its better to have failed than to have stayed sitting on your settee tweeting all day. I managed to bump into Grant "Granty" Grant at Belvide where I managed to fail to add REDSTART to my Belvide list for the second year running.
Just noticed a distinct lack of pictures so far. So here's one from the achives.
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| The Hay Wain by Constable |
Anyway, following the failed attempt at the Scilly ROCK THRUSH, we cobbled together a trip to Yorkshire on Easter Monday, and again, that dastardly fellow, The Stalker, managed to get into our car. First stop was our first visit to Spurn this year. We headed straight down to the Canal Scrape / Triangle area and tried to get our first bird of the day, and our target bird for the day. Unfortunately, the Spurn regulars informed us that it had gone to ground. We wandered around, and twice, we heard an unfamiliar scratchy sub song coming from the bushes.
I noticed a photographer walked hastily towards the hide. Then, The Stalker rapidly followed him. I've pointed out many times to all you younger twitchers out there, it pays at twitches not only to watch the bushes, but also to watch the crowd. It pays off I'm telling you.
I walked down the path to the Canal Scrape hide, only for The Stalker to come rushing out. "It's showing" he said. I offered to go to fetch CJW (I knew I couldn't ring him due to signal issues) but The Stalker said he would.
I sat in the hide and soon re-relocated the male Western Subalpine Warbler feeding in the bushes to the right of the hide. I sat there and marvelled at the lovely red front, the moustache stripe, how it actively fed. I was able to get two ladies onto it as well, and I sat and followed it as it fed, sometimes in view, other times not, on occasions with a Blackcap, and all this time I was sat there, I was thinking to myself, where the f##k is The Stalker and CJW!
Anyway, some 40 mins later, The Stalker returned to the hide shaking and covered in sweat. CJW followed in behind grinning. I didn't ask what went on. All I heard was something about someone doing a bit of skinny dipping in the Humber and someone had become a naturist. We all had excellent views of the Western Subalpine before it disappeared. Unfortunately Lord Lichfield didn't managed any video as he was busy towelling himself off.
We had a walk around the triangle but there was absolutely nothing around. The bushes were dead. It was odd to go into the Crown & Anchor car park, and Kilnsea churchyard and not see a single bird. We did a bit of seawatching. And didn't see a bird.
We headed off to Fairburn Ings, but by the time we arrived, the RED-RUMPED SWALLOW hadn't been seen for a few hours, and the hirundine flock was by now very high up in the sky. We did find the adult Little Gull, but despite a long walk around the reserve, we failed to locate the SPOONBILL. The reserve was actually packed as it was a Bank Holiday Monday. As a birder, we were very much in the minority, and I felt odd at walking round with my scope on my back. People kept looking at me and laughing.....Sorry I'll rewrite that...CJW and The Stalker kept looking at me and laughing.
We did hear a Bittern booming, and when we met one of those RSPB volunteers walking round the reserve, those that pretend to know a bit about birds (he did actually point to four Little Egrets nesting in a tree and said "Is that the Spoonbill") he said it was the first Spring that a Bittern had been heard booming on the reserve. You never know, in 2045 when Staffs Wildlife finally do something to Chucklesholme, we might possibly get a BITTERN reported there (but as its Staffs Wildlife I wouldn't bank on it!)
Anyway, some 40 mins later, The Stalker returned to the hide shaking and covered in sweat. CJW followed in behind grinning. I didn't ask what went on. All I heard was something about someone doing a bit of skinny dipping in the Humber and someone had become a naturist. We all had excellent views of the Western Subalpine before it disappeared. Unfortunately Lord Lichfield didn't managed any video as he was busy towelling himself off.
We had a walk around the triangle but there was absolutely nothing around. The bushes were dead. It was odd to go into the Crown & Anchor car park, and Kilnsea churchyard and not see a single bird. We did a bit of seawatching. And didn't see a bird.
We headed off to Fairburn Ings, but by the time we arrived, the RED-RUMPED SWALLOW hadn't been seen for a few hours, and the hirundine flock was by now very high up in the sky. We did find the adult Little Gull, but despite a long walk around the reserve, we failed to locate the SPOONBILL. The reserve was actually packed as it was a Bank Holiday Monday. As a birder, we were very much in the minority, and I felt odd at walking round with my scope on my back. People kept looking at me and laughing.....Sorry I'll rewrite that...CJW and The Stalker kept looking at me and laughing.
We did hear a Bittern booming, and when we met one of those RSPB volunteers walking round the reserve, those that pretend to know a bit about birds (he did actually point to four Little Egrets nesting in a tree and said "Is that the Spoonbill") he said it was the first Spring that a Bittern had been heard booming on the reserve. You never know, in 2045 when Staffs Wildlife finally do something to Chucklesholme, we might possibly get a BITTERN reported there (but as its Staffs Wildlife I wouldn't bank on it!)
Anyway. Onto the arguments you all want to hear about. As you know (or don't know), we do have quite a few long journeys, and one great way of keeping awake is by conversation. Recently we've had discussions on Bowie could write crap songs, does Philip Schofield sit alongside Wogan and Forsyth as a TV great and was Willie Carson all that (I started that one on the way back from Scotland and I'm proud of that - he did actually win quite a few races). But the biggest discussions come when CJW is driving and his music is playing. His playlist is exactly like a Now That's What I call music album, some good tracks then a few padders no one had heard of to fill the album. Now when one of these "padders" comes on, he always says the same thing "you've heard of this Shirley". Firstly, my name isn't Shirley and most of the time no I haven't. Anyway, in Shropshire, this track below came on. CJW said it was a fantastic track. I disagreed. Here it is by the group M83. See what you think. Finally, I must thank Famous Red Grouse for this blog, as they helped me write most of it!! Love to you all (except the tossers out there and you know who you are and to the Talke Tiny Teeny Ticker - enjoy your retirement. We knew you wouldn't last five minutes)
