Bluethroat at Willow Tree Fen LWT, Lincolnshire. Last, but not least.

The last, for now of the images of this amazingly confiding 1st winter male Bluethroat. I say "for now", because, as of writing the bird is still present and may require another visit or two!

A photo of this bird appeared on the internet on Friday 10th February and was met with disbelief. An overwintering Bluethroat, surely not?! Lots of hats have been eaten and humble pie scoffed upon confirmation of the sighting the next day, which is when I first visited to bag this lifer. The weather was wet and horrible and the bird showed well, but very distantly. Over the period of that Saturday and the Sunday the bird became more confiding, showing down to about 10 feet and seeming nonchalant to the people watching it. Monday the 13th was a sunny, beautiful day and after finishing work early, I paid a visit to see if any images could be got of this Robin-sized visitor.

Upon arrival at the reserve, the car park was full and several cars were parked on the road, a total of 40 vehicles were counted, such was the draw of this showy individual. A group of birders/twitchers/photographers, call them what you will were noted about half way down the entrance track where the bird had been reported from. I made my way and upon arrival the bird duly showed, hopping around on the sun baked track, looking for morsels to eat. I laid down next to the track and waited. The bird was showing ridiculously well and after a while came extremely close to me, where I got the images that I have posted. At one point he came too close for my camera to focus!

Since then, crowds have been steadily dripping to this little reserve on the Lincolnshire border, but unfortunately the poorer side of birding/twitching/photography has come to the fore. The bird is being harassed, due, in part to some individuals placing mealworms on the track in order for the bird to come closer. The bird is eating this food, but consequently is not showing for quite as long periods due to the fact that it doesn't need to forage and then when it has fed, it just sits in the reeds to digest the food. This has led to certain people and at points, groups, crashing into the reed bed in order to flush the bird so they can see it. When these people have been asked politely if they wouldn't mind doing that, individuals have been met with a barrage of abuse and name calling, being told that the habitat didn't matter, it's only a bit of reed bed and grass and that they had to see the bird. The bird has, unsurprisingly become more elusive over time, but hopefully, in time the crowds will diminish and the bird will be left alone.

Little Gulls at Maxey/Etton pits, Cambridgeshire

Yesterday the whole country seemed to have Little Gulls passing through. We had a fair share in the Peterborough area with a couple at Ferry Meadows CP, 7 reported at Deeping lakes and at least 5 at Maxey/Etton pits, where I managed to take the above images. At least 3 of the Maxey birds seemed to be in full summer plumage, a stunning bird with an all black hood, black bill and a slight pink tinge to the breast, which is hopefully obvious in a couple of the photos.

Definitely not just a "sea"gull!

Red Kites

Goldeneye at Ferry Meadows CP

This first-winter male Goldeneye has been frequenting Gunwade lake at Ferry Meadows CP for the past week or so, hanging out with a flock of Tufted Ducks. Told from the female bird by the white loral spot (the white patch between the bill and eye) as the female has an all brown head. A much more dull bird than a full adult male, but he still has the piercing golden eye from which the bird gets its' name.

Cattle Egret at Pentney village in Norfolk

Yesterday was my first foray in birding this year and it took me into north Norfolk to try and catch up with the long-staying Pallid Harrier which has been seen close to the village of Flitcham. Mission was accomplished after standing in a rather wet and cold field for 2 and a half hours in order to get views of a rather splendid bird and first life tick of 2016, with the only downside being that the bird was over 300 metres away and refused to come any closer! A Cattle Egret being reported at nearby Pentney GPs caught my attention as I haven't seen one of these birds for a couple of years, so I decided to pay a visit on my way home. After discovering that the bird had relocated to the village, I found its' favoured horse paddocks and there was the bird quite happily following a horse and picking off anything that the animal disturbed. I stayed until the night drew in and when the bird flew, so did I.

Marsh Warbler at Narborough in Norfolk

This bird has been present for a few days now close to the village of Narborough in Norfolk. It has taken up residence in a reed bed mixed with nettles and other weeds with surrounding alder and elder bushes and so on Sunday myself and Mike Weedon paid a visit to catch up with this noted songster.

On arrival the bird was singing out of view and sounded like a Reed Warbler, not very exciting we both thought, but as the bird warmed up he started mimicking other birds, most notably Blackbird, Marsh Tit, Goldfinch, Swallow, Nuthatch and the call of a Chiffchaff. This was mostly done out of view, but occasionally the bird would give tantalising glimpses and on a couple of occasions perched in full view, but others at the twitch considered themselves to be more important than the rest of us and barged me out of the way in order to obtain 'the' photograph they so desired. I am afraid that you, dear reader are left with these glimpses.

Red-rumped Swallow at Ferry Meadows CP, Peterborough

Preening whilst in flight

Being harassed by a House Martin

Some record shots of the Red-rumped Swallow which was found on Sunday morning by Matt Webb. It was seen in the company of House Martins around Overton Lake and Roman Point for most of that morning and then again in the evening. I saw it again on Monday morning and it was again reported that evening and then again this morning. A nice addition to my PBC year list.

Hudsonian Godwit at Meare Heath, Somerset

The Hudsonian Godwit is a rare bird, only recorded twice before in this country and the last time was in 1988. A bird that breeds at scattered sites from Alaska to the Hudson Bay, but this female had found itself in Somerset in the company of more familiar Black-tailed Godwits. The bird had first appeared last Friday (24th April) and was seen by a lot of people on that Saturday, but then it flew and was not seen again. That was, until the 29th April when it was noted again in the same place, in the company of the same Black-tailed Godwits. A twitch was definitely on the cards, after all, this is quite possibly a once in a lifetime bird.

Myself and my friend Chris Orders made the journey on Sunday morning amidst pouring rain and poor visibility. On arrival at the car park, the rain stopped, but the clouds still filled the sky and we made our way to the birds' favoured haunt. There were a few birders present, all telling us of the birds continued presence, although at that time it was out of sight. We waited. An hour and a half went by with 'booming' Bitterns and Great White Egrets in breeding plumage to keep us entertained and then the majority of the Godwit flock took to the sky from its out of sight position and there, amongst the paler Blackwits was the bird we had travelled to see, the female Hudsonian Godwit. Easily identified by the dark underwings, the bird whirled around in the sky for a minute or two and then proceeded to land, this time in full view. Scope views were excellent, showing the 'Hudwit' in all her glory. A summer plumaged bird that was slightly smaller and shorter-legged than her cousins and an overall darker appearance with a slightly upturned bill, reminiscent of a Bar-tailed Godwit. The group did fly a few times, but after the third time they proceeded to stay firmly on the ground with their bills tucked under their wings for at least an hour and a half. At that point we left and made our way back to Peterborough.

Slightly harder to identify in this picture, but I assure you, the bird is there! Can you see her?

A couple of Reed Buntings