After slogging around the entirety of Beachy Head over the weekend searching for a Blyth's Reed, it was with both pleasure and annoyance that I was to drive back there this afternoon to see one.
With such an unprecedented spring for this species, it felt as if Sussex had been left out altogether, but thankfully, Laurence was on hand to find the county's third Blyth's Reed Warbler, but most importantly, the first twitchable record! The previous records were suppressed, the first rightly, and the second, wrongly... I'll leave it at that.
A quick phone call to my boss to ask for the afternoon off meant a nervous but steady drive back to Beachy earlier than expected. Upon arriving, it didn't take too long for the bird to show itself. Over the course of an hour, it showed reasonably well, especially for such an elusive species.
For a Blyth's Reed, the bird was most striking; the short primaries, non-rufous rump, striking supercilium and plain tertials were all evident, not only in the photos below, but also during the prolonged scope views I managed to achieve.
Well done to Laurence on another Beachy find... and also it was great to see a number of Sussex birders!
With such an unprecedented spring for this species, it felt as if Sussex had been left out altogether, but thankfully, Laurence was on hand to find the county's third Blyth's Reed Warbler, but most importantly, the first twitchable record! The previous records were suppressed, the first rightly, and the second, wrongly... I'll leave it at that.
A quick phone call to my boss to ask for the afternoon off meant a nervous but steady drive back to Beachy earlier than expected. Upon arriving, it didn't take too long for the bird to show itself. Over the course of an hour, it showed reasonably well, especially for such an elusive species.
For a Blyth's Reed, the bird was most striking; the short primaries, non-rufous rump, striking supercilium and plain tertials were all evident, not only in the photos below, but also during the prolonged scope views I managed to achieve.
Well done to Laurence on another Beachy find... and also it was great to see a number of Sussex birders!
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| Blyth's Reed Warbler at Beachy Head |
