Ghost of a Wryneck

When I was around 9 years of age I used to go birdwatching with two pals in my class. We went to Llangranog, a Welsh language and activity center, on a school trip. During one of the walks, one of my friends shouted Wryneck pointing to a bird flying off into the distance. Both claimed to have positively identified it and cajoled me into agreeing, although I did have my doubts. Later they admitted that it was a planned trap to belittle my birding skills.

Since then the Wryneck has been the bird that I have most liked to see, but have dipped on 3 occasions, and it has come to haunt me. Incidentally, one of the jokers was best man at my wedding (and vice versa). So, when a Wryneck was reported in Bucks and showing well I set of to the Chilterns. There was only one birder present at the top of Bacombe Hill when I arrived and he said the Wryneck had just flown into some nearby bushes. Stood in the rain for 2 hours, scanning the bushes and ant hills for a sign when it was located sitting in a tree. It soon flew to the ground to feed and I got to within 5 meters, although the bird actually came even closer.

Wryneck at Bacombe Hill, Chilterns, Bucks

Looks a bit like a wren in this shot

Cotswold Water Park Glossy Ibis

Two Glossy Ibis had been reported for a couple of days at pit 95 of Cotswold Water Park. Initially arrived at the wrong pit where I found a local birder who was watching hobbies. She said that she had looked for the Ibis previously but had given up. When I told her that they had been reported an hour earlier, she suggested we go together to look for it. Pit 95 was overgrown with a few pools that are difficult to view and a permissive path that skirts the West and North. From the path entrance on Friday Ham Lane, we observed a roe deer and within a few minutes, a brief view of a single Glossy Ibis in flight. Decided to walk around the Pit hoping for a better vantage point but returned to entrance where a few birders had gathered. Stayed another 30 minutes and managed 2 further glimpses, the second of which showed the glossy coat shimmering in the sun.

No chance of a Glossy Ibis shot but managed this photo of a Comma butterfly

Glossy Ibis : UK lifer 270

Spotting a Spotted Crake

Since my last post I was booked onto 2 pelagics in Cornwall. The 12+ hours scillonian pelagic was cancelled due to a lack of people and the St Ives pelagic was cancelled due to a storm. Disappointed but decided to spent a few days on the Scilly Isles next year and do a couple of pelagics from there. apart from that, haven't done much birding as went to France for a wedding, then had the in-laws over from Germany. Did see a couple of black kites and 2 black redstarts but that was about it.

Oxfordshire has been quiet the last few months so the appearance of a spotted crake at Radley gravel pits was noteworthy. They are sometimes found in Southern England at this time of year but are notorious for hiding away in dense undergrowth. I often read of birders waiting all day for a briefest of glimpses of the bird. However, I was pleased to note that the Radley Crake was showing well for alot of the time.
Got to the correct pit (Small ash pit G) around 8.00 am and was surprised to be the only person. Had to wait about 10 minutes for it to emerge from the undergrowth during which I was entertained by 2 Greenshanks, 4 Snipe, 2 Green sandpipers and a Green woodpecker. For the following hour I watched the Crake feeding on the mud to the East of the pit. The light was poor and it was quite far away, but the bird was in the open for long periods of time.

On the way back, I turned my ankle on the stoney path running alongside the pit whilst looking at a Green Woodpecker flying over. Painful but managed to hobble back to the car.

I have now seen Spotted Crake, Little Crake (Slimbridge), Baillon's Crake (Teinhoven Plassen, Holland) but not a corncrake.