Sunday 23 November 2014

More Frustration

I checked Countess Wear sewage works this morning - an old favourite haunt of mine. I had a handful of chiffies and goldcrests on the way through but as I was walking back along the towpath, just past the two big oaks, I was stopped dead in my tracks. I could hear a clear disyllabic 'chu-vit' call, not too dissimilar to pied wagtail, coming from sallows just a few yards in front of me. I quickly got on the bird as it flicked around high up in the canopy of a large sallow, calling constantly - a 'yellow-browed' type going 'chu-vit' - has to be a 'humes'! I faffed around as usual, not sure whether to look at it through bins or film it with the camera and in the end I tried, rather embarassingly, to do both! Consequently I got no further beyond 'small wing-barred phyllosc' with the plumage and a minute of shaky video where all you can here is road noise from the nearby M5 flyover. I should have tracked it as it moved off but I once again reached for my phone and that was the last I saw of it. An absolute shambles!
I'm still hoping it gets re-found (there were a fair few people looking for it by the time I had to leave) but, unless it does, I just don't have enough on it for it to be acceptable to me as a find, never mind the BBRC. As with any rarity, you want to get all the features and allow them time to sink in and be enjoyed. I felt like this when I first had the Caspian Tern, back in August and it's not a nice feeling.
I'll definitely try and get back there next weekend.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Matt.
    Sorry I wasn't there to help track it. Sounds good to me but I can see the frustration!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nick - could have done with you there. I'm still hoping it's there somewhere although Chris Townend had a look today without any luck.

    ReplyDelete