Red-spotted Bluethroat in the reeds

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.

Bluethroat at Willow Tree Fen LWT, Lincolnshire. A few more.

Bluethroat at Willow Tree Fen LWT, Lincolnshire

You will get fed up of seeing images of this first winter male Bluethroat over the course of the next few posts as I have literally hundreds of photos to go through, so for now, I will leave you with just a taster of this truly remarkable bird.

Red-footed Falcon at Willow Tree Fen LWT, part 2

As of writing, the Red-footed Falcon is still present at Willow Tree Fen nature reserve in Lincolnshire. The other morning I paid yet another visit, ostensibly to see if I could get some more photos of it and this time the sun was shining.

A remarkable bird, that after a bit of careful field-craft sat within 15 feet of me and only took to the sky when a cow got too close! I may return yet more as I still would like a photo of the bird doing something other than sitting on a post.

Red-footed Falcon at Willow Tree Fen LWT

A 1st summer male Red-footed Falcon had been entertaining the assembled masses near Stoke on Trent during July and I had thought of going to see if I could get a half decent photo or two, but it was a bit of a journey and as it wouldn't have been a 'lifer' I kept umming and erring! The bird then disappeared. Mike Weedon texted me on Thursday morning with the cryptic message of 'Have you heard the red-foot news?'. I replied in the negative thinking all sorts of possibilities, he then phoned to inform me that a 1st summer male Red-footed Falcon had been seen at Willow Tree Fen (a small reserve managed by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and just over the border from the Peterborough area) the previous evening. I couldn't visit that day, although he and others managed the trip and so I had to wait until Friday evening after work, where the damp and the gloom did nothing for photography, but the bird did show well, if only by sitting on a post!

Black-winged Stilt

A distant shot in gale force and rainy conditions of this recent visitor to a nearby reserve, just over the border from the Peterborough Bird Club recording area. This Black-winged Stilt has been seen in a few places in the last week or so, Oxfordshire for a day, then Rutland Water for a day and then it flew to a little reserve in Lincolnshire called Willow Tree Fen for a period of 5 days where I managed to catch up with it before it moved on to Frampton Marsh on the Wash where it has been present for the past couple of days.

The Black-winged Stilt is an annual, but rare visitor to Britain, with a few breeding attempts and a long-staying individual staying at Titchwell in Norfolk for a number of years (just `Google` Sammy the Stilt + Titchwell and you will see this individual). An extremely long-legged wader with red legs, a white and black body and long, straight delicate bill. Quite unmistakeable when seen properly.

This is the second individual I have seen in this country, the first being in the PBC area a few years ago at Maxey GP, it`s just a shame this bird flew over our area and decided to drop in just 1km over the border. For this reason I can`t add it to my year list!