What a lark!

I was surprised to find my self by myself this morning (Saturday) by the enclosure.  It was quiet. I did a full circuit of the enclosure and found myself following a possible Firecrest back to the edge of Long Wood.  Couldn't find the supposed Firecrest, but did notice some interesting movement in a tree. What looked like a small grey warbler, say Great Tit sized moving around in an elder. I looked round and Bob appeared from the brooms. We waited and watched, trying to get a glimpse of this bird.  While we were at it, we also noticed a pipit, virtually completely hidden by branches.  I could just make out streaking on the flanks from where I stood, Bob, apparently, couldn't see much more from where he stood. Then a soppy dog came round the corner, and it's owner a few seconds later with bins! Needless to say the pipit flushed and Bob, ever hopeful chased its non-calling form back into the brooms.  My warbler had also taken the opportunity to bunk as well, but I soon found in elders just to my left. Grey backed with no super, and just a half ring under the eye, it looked like a small grey Garden Warbler...

I called Jono and soon five of us were watching the bush.  Soon five of us had spent a couple of hours looking at the bush, wandering through Long Wood and checking every other bit of bush in the immediate area.  Zip!  There were rumblings.  I wandered off again to check the ride to the north of Long Wood, popular with elder and popular with elder loving birds.  I found a Garden Warbler, not what I was hoping to go back and tell the others.  Didn't look like my bird, but somehow I didn't think that was going to sway the hearts and minds of the four bored birders.  It didn't and within five minutes they all gone home or elsewhere.  I went for a coffee.

One more go I thought, and met up with Josh on his return from the Alex, I explained what had happened, to which he remarked "they'll be sorry if you find something good!"

I gave the inside of the wood one more go, and got the Garden Warbler again, looking very much like it should.  I gave up and wandered back through the brooms to catch a train to Cambridge. I just passed the vis-mig point when I heard the beautifully quirky call of a Woodlark somewhere behind me.  It called again and there it was in all its short-arsed glory. It circled and appeared to land somewhere just to the south of Long Wood. I called Jono after sending the news out, and he made it out to get a very overdue patch-life-tick and to find some promising Polish porn.  Happy days.

No pics at all today so have a Chiffy from the very self same day a year ago!