I was in twitch mode this weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, a Grey Phalarope at Dunstable Sewage works was a bit to good to be ignored. This bird should have long since departed for Africa but obviously the warmish sewage water held enough insect life to keep this frenetic little wader happy.
Although it never actually moved very far, good views were had even though at some 100 yards range.
On Sunday morning I set my sights even higher with a trip to the Queen Mother Reservoir in Berkshire.
For a couple of days a very rare American vagrant a Buff-bellied Pipit had been present.
Normally entry to this site is by permit only but fortunately Berkshire Ornitholological Society had managed to get access for the huge number of people who wanted to see this bird.
On arrival it was easy to see which way to go as a steady stream of birders wandered down towards it's favoured area just beyond the pier.
Unfortunately the only Pipits seen around this area were Meadow Pipits, but a bit further along our target bird had been located.
To say this little fellow had no fear of Humans is a bit of an understatement as it fed happily just feet from the hordes of admirers.
When eventually I'd had my fill of this mega rarity, I decided to complete the lap of the 3 mile circumference of the reservoir to try and see a couple of the other good birds that were also on site.
While I managed to find the long staying Long-tailed Duck, the Red-necked Grebe seemed to have chosen that day to depart.
I thought I might have seen a few Ring -necked Parakeets as this is their heartland but 3 flyovers were the only ones I managed.
On Saturday afternoon, a Grey Phalarope at Dunstable Sewage works was a bit to good to be ignored. This bird should have long since departed for Africa but obviously the warmish sewage water held enough insect life to keep this frenetic little wader happy.
Although it never actually moved very far, good views were had even though at some 100 yards range.
On Sunday morning I set my sights even higher with a trip to the Queen Mother Reservoir in Berkshire.
For a couple of days a very rare American vagrant a Buff-bellied Pipit had been present.
Normally entry to this site is by permit only but fortunately Berkshire Ornitholological Society had managed to get access for the huge number of people who wanted to see this bird.
On arrival it was easy to see which way to go as a steady stream of birders wandered down towards it's favoured area just beyond the pier.
Unfortunately the only Pipits seen around this area were Meadow Pipits, but a bit further along our target bird had been located.
To say this little fellow had no fear of Humans is a bit of an understatement as it fed happily just feet from the hordes of admirers.
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| Buff-bellied Pipit |
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| Buff-bellied Pipit |
While I managed to find the long staying Long-tailed Duck, the Red-necked Grebe seemed to have chosen that day to depart.
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| the bird in the centre is a Long-tailed Duck(honestly) |
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