Thursday 1 November 2012

Colourful day


This morning started with a trip up the M5 to Sand bay near Weston-super-mare, to try & catch up with the Hoopoe that has been there for nearly a week. The rain clouds cleared just as we approached the beach & the sun shone down. After a short 10 minute wait, in it flew & landed in front of the few waiting birders & photographers. We all then spent the next half an hour or so snapping away & most of the dog walkers steered there charges away from the small happy crowd. What happened next I could not believe. A lone woman walked towards the group, staying behind the forest of tripods only to then walk across the grass towards the bird & flushed it! She then after walking on for a few metres walked back from where she came from! Most of the crowd then disappeared off home or followed the bird up the beach, leaving me alone & dumbfounded wondering what had happened to common sense. I must point out that she was neither a birder or photographer & did walk behind the group. But surely she must have clocked all the optics pointing in the direction of her travel after she had passed the group? If she had stayed on the path, all would have been ok.


 Earwigs seem to have been its favourite nosh today!


This afternoon I visited Noahs lake hide at Shapwick heath NNR. After a couple of fruitless freezing hours a Bittern dropped into the small reed bed in front of the hide, too quickly for me to get on it & a Kingfisher fished from a reed stem.