WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

Felbrigg Lake again this morning, and there seemed to be more birdwatchers than birds! I counted at least a dozen birders, and started to think I'd missed a rare bird or something but I think the majority were looking for the (still absent) Mandarin. A number of year ticks were secured, the best being Marsh Tit and a couple of Snipe

Tufted Duck 7
Gadwall 8
Teal 5
Shelduck 5
Mallard c30
Mute Swan 2
Grey-lag Goose 40


Snipe


Shelduck




Just after lunch I casually checked my pager and nearly dropped it as I read "White-crowned Sparrow Cley Village 1228"!!!!!!!!!! Now this little beauty from North America is a very very rare bird in Britain, what we term a mega! With additional news that viewing was difficult and the bird only shows occasionally my mind was cast back to the summer when I DIDN'T see the Dark-eyed Junco. I really was in two minds whether to go or not but caved in after ooh... ten seconds! The viewing was cramped to say the least, with the bird showing on an enclosed drive way facing the road. Its in these situations you realise how fat the human head is, especially the great big fat one that was directly in front of me! (Oi mate, you need to go on a head diet!) Another annoyance was that a sign clearly saying that the bird would not show if anyone stood infront of the gate was being blocked by a well known local photographer by standing infront of it! Amazingly, when he did finally move, the WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW showed well but briefly, proving the bloody point! Come on guys its not rocket science!

White-crowned Sparrow twitch




White-crowned Sparrow (or a bad scrawl of a great bird!)



On the way home I decided to check the cover crop, just in case there had been a fall of American sparrows! No such luck, but the Bramblings were still present, though sticking to the shady side of the hedge.

Brambling