Saturday
9th January light S-SW Heavy rain showers, occasional thunder.
Starlings
leave and go overhead as I sit in the hide at Noah's Lake, Shapwick
listening to the rain on the roof and the conversation from another
early riser, Rob. Rob says that he is down here most days
photographing whatever nature puts in front of him.
By
9:30am the starlings have all gone and the great white egrets have
left the roost. Still no sign of the glossy ibis though.
In
heavy rain I cycle to the the road and hide the bike. I don't want to
trudge and push it through the mud. Unencumbered I walk down to the
dusky warbler spot again and meet someone looking pleased. He has
just seen it. Confidence is high once more.
By
3:00pm confidence has gone and over five hours standing in the rain
has not given me even a glimpse of it. I did get a year tick, number
100 on the list. A couple of meadow pipits were on an area of
cut reed amongst pied wagtails. There have been very few other
birders braving the weather and only one, Paul Williams from
Clevedon, spent the day as I did. He went for a walk and saw the
glossy!
Well
there's always tomorrow.
I
retire to the Railway Inn and buy a couple of rolls. Having only had
a packet of Hobnobs and some bars given to me yesterday by Pete
Drommett I needed some sustenance.
Down
to the Noah's Lake hide again which is full of starling watchers. A
group of four, two couples are from Winchester. Together we watch the
grey skies and as rain falls and darkness does likewise, masses of
starlings fly over. A sparrowhawk tazzes past, almost seeming that it
was coming in the hide with us. It is carrying one of the starlings.
Well one million take away one.
Then
. . . I shout out . . . Glossy ibis!
There
it is flying low over the reedbed to the right. It lands for a short
while out in front of me and then takes off heading left low over the
water until it has gone into trees.
The
Green Year list now stands at 101.
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