Doh!

 

Penduline habitat and Powderham Sawmills.

 

This morning I fancied a change of scenery so, having noted that a couple penduline tits had turned up recently elsewhere in the country, I thought I'd go and check the reed mace at Powderham Sawmills. This is a spot I check every winter. It has masses of 'penduline tit food' and I never see other birders there, so I feel I stand a reasonable chance! I set my scope up in the lane and began systematically checking clumps of reed mace along a 200 yard stretch of reeds.  As I was stood scanning, my phone buzzed into life - a text from Mark Bailey - 3 penduline tits at Bowling Green! B*****KS!!! A short while earlier I'd driven past the turning to Bowling Green as drizzle started to set in. I considered stopping and doing some easy, comfortable birding in the dry but told myself it would be worth getting soaked for a penduline tit. Oh dear. Now I had a dilemma. Do I dash for the birds? Of course not. Not if I want to find my own, so I waited it out and eventually decided that three penduline tits would be nicer to see than pheasants, which was all I was seeing stood at the Sawmills. Needless to say I dipped the penduline tits on the way home so not the best of mornings.

 

Plenty of Pheasants this morning, 4+ Chiffchaff and a Stonechat.

 

'Collar-less' Pheasant.