Sunday 19 May 2013

MEGA - Dusky Thrush

Ok , I must admit that every now and again I can't resist a bit of out-of-county twitching for a British tick!
The Dusky Thrush was not the best looking bird I have seen, in fact, this first winter female was probably the dullest of all the Thrushes I have seen in the UK but she was very rare. A new BOU tick for almost every UK birder and the first twitchable bird since the late 50's

On arrival she sat in a tree almost motionless surrounded by a few hundred birders. Almost impossible to get a photo as she thought she was out of sight. The presence of so many people chasing the poor bird may have been the reason she was gone the next day!

My first new bird in the UK since last Spring.. and completes a nice selection of rare Thrushes I have seen here which include (in order of my best memories) White's, Blue-rock, Red-throated, Naumann's, Black-throated, Swainsons, Grey-cheek, American Robin.

Seeing this bird was great but finding birds (even if just scarce rather than rare) is much more exciting. So will be back on the Norfolk coast next time!

The terrible shot below shows how hard she was to view.. But close prolonged views meant that all the features could be noted.




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