CJW
Hit-and-run WUM
Had a good weekend over here. It started on Saturday morning when my mate Rob and I found a stunning Pallas' Warbler at a site called Port Mooar, about 5 miles from my house. It had been fairly quiet when we got there and I said to Rob "It's crap, but it would only take one bird to brighten it up". Talk about prophetic!
About 10 minutes later, a noisy party of Long-tailed Tits moved up through the valley (you can picture the scene). Then, not 10 seconds after the tits had gone through, a 'crest' flew across the road and landed on the front edge of a bush not 20 feet away. I lifted my bins expecting to see a Goldcrest, but Christ!
It was stunning. But as soon as I went for my camera is was away, dammit. Rob was actually stunned into silence! When he did speak, all he could come up with was " how ******* yellow was that?"
Then yesterday, we went back down there and again it was quiet. Almost at exactly the same time the LTT flock appeared again and this time the first bird I got onto was a Northern bird with an almost pure white 'golfball' head. I managed to fire-off a couple off shots but it was quite distant and only got record shots. Still, 2 Manx 1sts within 24 hours can't be bad!
Then to top it all off, today I get an email from the county recorder telling me of 2x Goosanders (Manx rarity) on a river near to where Rob lives. I couldn't access the site at lunchtime, due to an RTA, so decided to have a look at the same river where it empties into the harbour behind my office. As soon as I pulled up, I find a Dabchick which is an annual local rarity! So there I was trying to digiscope it, when what flies down the river and right past me? 2x female Goosanders! (6 miles away from their Saturday sighting).
I'm on a roll!
About 10 minutes later, a noisy party of Long-tailed Tits moved up through the valley (you can picture the scene). Then, not 10 seconds after the tits had gone through, a 'crest' flew across the road and landed on the front edge of a bush not 20 feet away. I lifted my bins expecting to see a Goldcrest, but Christ!
It was stunning. But as soon as I went for my camera is was away, dammit. Rob was actually stunned into silence! When he did speak, all he could come up with was " how ******* yellow was that?"
Then yesterday, we went back down there and again it was quiet. Almost at exactly the same time the LTT flock appeared again and this time the first bird I got onto was a Northern bird with an almost pure white 'golfball' head. I managed to fire-off a couple off shots but it was quite distant and only got record shots. Still, 2 Manx 1sts within 24 hours can't be bad!
Then to top it all off, today I get an email from the county recorder telling me of 2x Goosanders (Manx rarity) on a river near to where Rob lives. I couldn't access the site at lunchtime, due to an RTA, so decided to have a look at the same river where it empties into the harbour behind my office. As soon as I pulled up, I find a Dabchick which is an annual local rarity! So there I was trying to digiscope it, when what flies down the river and right past me? 2x female Goosanders! (6 miles away from their Saturday sighting).
I'm on a roll!
