14 October 2017

Bluethroat, buses, etc.

 1st-winter male Bluethroat (with blue!), Uskmouth, 14th October 2017,... in the dark (ISO 10,000!)

Obligatory tail pattern pic.

Amazing, you wait years for a Bluethroat to appear in Gwent, then two turn up within days of one another,...

Woken by a pre-dawn phone call from RMC, Bluethroat trapped at Uskmouth(!), hand to floor, grope around for trousers, trousers to knees, hop-hop-hop past slumbering labradoodle, trousers to waist, grab jumper, grab gear-filled rucksack, phone TC on descent of stairs, clamber over stair gate with jumper over head (health and safety nightmare/potential death-trap), place dry Weetabix in gob, grab keys and step out into the darkness. Arse! Re-open door, grab glasses, spin and head towards car.

Brrrm, squeal, brrrm-brrrm, zoom,... and skid to a halt at Uskmouth. TC arrives.  

Hello Richard, hello Bluethroat, click, click, click, click, click,... Bluethroat released, Bluethroat disappears into reedbed. Goodbye Bluethroat.

The third record for Gwent; the three birds have been seen by one, three and four observers respectively. They're often tricky little bleeders but this is taking the piss. 

PS. The bird was looked for later in the day without success, no surprise really given the area of reedbed and scrub at the release site.

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