My UK twitching has dwindled in the past few years, though there are some species in my opinion that warrant a twitch. Historical records of Asian Desert Warblers in Britain are from way back (comparable to my age!); any photos of nest-building males from Yorkshire and Norfolk certainly raised much excitement when I trawled through the 'Rare Birds of Britain & Ireland' photo book in my younger years. So, the news of a male in Northumberland certainly got the pulses racing and I soon got into full twitching mode once again.
Yesterday, I had arranged to swap my working days to have today off, and had also hired a car for the long drive up to Northumberland to see the very rare Asian Desert Warbler, found on the 15th June. The Blyth's Reed Warbler find was a major setback in my plans, but only slightly, as before I went to see that, I had picked up the hire car (a nice Renault Kadjar) in Basingstoke.
From arriving in Alton after the Sussex twitch, I gathered a few things together, had a shower, and was soon on my way north. It was a mammoth six hour drive, but somehow I managed to do it in one hit (well a brief five minute stop), arriving on Holy Island around 5am. A quick walk out onto the dunes soon revealed the presence of the warbler as it sang from its favoured pine trees. Over the course of two hours the warbler showed fairly well to its gathering of perhaps 15 observers, though it stayed remarkably well hidden in the scant bushes as it fed amongst the leaves.
With excellent views, I reverted my attention to the island's flora. Despite a tardy search in the western dunes, I couldn't find any trace of the Dune Helleborine (until recently named Lindisfarne Helleborine, though this and Tyne Helleborine have been 'lumped' into Dune Helleborine), however, I did find many Marsh Helleborines that were still a week away from flowering. Many Northern Marsh Orchids and hybrids of Northern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchids were also present.
By 8.30am, I thought of little else but to make tracks. After filling with fuel north of Newcastle, I drove non-stop back to Basingstoke and dropped off the car, arriving home at 2.30pm!
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| Asian Desert Warbler on Holy Island |
