Friday 1 June 2018

Grimsbury Reservoir :: 01 June 2018

It has been a really busy week and I even had to work through Sunday to make up for the office being shut on Monday. The rest of the week has been 6.20am starts in the office and some late finishes. This work thing really does get in the way.

At just after 10.00am my phone pinged to let me know that I had a message - it appears I had a few but had been too engrossed in my work that I hadn't noticed. It was Steve on the WhatsApp Group saying that the pied flycatcher was still showing at Grimsbury Reservoir ... you've got to be joking! I'd missed earlier posts from @987jonty and Mark. I dropped everything and jumped in the car.

Service is improving and @987jonty had even provided a location map of where he had seen it. As I turned the corner my heart sank as I couldn't see any birders about - I needn't have worried as I soon found some on the riverbank - including Steve and Colin. They pointed across the river and there it was a male pied flycatcher [#126] and a lifer! It wasn't long and Mark turned up too.

The bird was showing really really well and it hurt not to have my camera with me. I stayed for a short while but had to get back to the office. As Charlotte was on holiday I called her and asked whether she'd mind dropping my camera off next time she was out.

Pied FlycatcherA note that the bird was still there at 11.30am and I now had a camera ... Mark was still there when I arrived but the bird was gone. Saw and thanked @987jonty for sharing (again) - @grimsbury_birds had got up too and seen it too.

My only photo (on my phone) was extra poor and Mark suggested that it could be a shuttlecock in the photo and not the bird - he could be right, it is that bad.

Thanks to @987jonty for sharing this one with me, in order that you can see what I saw.

While waiting, we had treecreeper on the opposite bank and a sparrowhawk over.

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