Decided to go for the Black Stork near York this morning. On arrival we were told it had disappeared down a ditch and hadn't been seen for over an hour. Fortunately it obliged almost straight away and gave decent views albeit distantly. Most impressive was Beth's ability to pick it up before the amassed crowd by spotting its crown just poking out of the ditch. Not the most impressive of birds but actually the first I've seen in England, the previous two being in Wales.
Next stop was Blacktoft Sands where the waders on offer were frankly disappointing. Perhaps I should post something on Surfbirds in block capitals berating the warden for the poor up keep of the reserve! I would if that were my opinion but it isn't in fact they appear to be doing a great job, what with 2 successful pairs of Bittern and 20+ young Marsh Harriers fledged. So in keeping with the mouth of the south's block capital rants this would be more appropriate (the lack of punctuation is intentional): THE MANAGEMENT OF BLACKTOFT SANDS WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THE RESERVE IS NOT MANAGED FOR THE BENEFIT OF PHOTOGRAPHERS BUT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BIRDS AND OTHER RESIDENT WILDLIFE
Autumn really seems to have kicked off today with an array of tempting morsels in Eire. Eire is of course not part of the British Isles, so it always bemuses why some birders include it in their British list totals - but what does it matter. Anyhow my spidey sense is sensing big things this weekend and I can't get the word Willet out of my head for some reason!!
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