It dawned bright and clear, and I headed to Burnham seafront for a bit of vis-migging. Skylarks, pipits, finches, buntings, and pigeons were streaming over heading south, and I cursed that I had not been there at dawn. It was still good though, quite a spectacle, and a few Bramblings added a bit of spice. Then I got a call from Tom Raven – he was down at Huntspill Sluice and had found two Richard’s Pipits in a field there.
Shortly afterwards I parked up by the (locked) gate on Sloway Lane and walked down the road to the sluice. I could see Tom about 100 yards away when suddenly a Richard’s Pipit flew across the road behind him, calling. ‘Great, that’s one of them’, I thought. It turned out Tom was still watching both and this was a third individual – a doubly unexpected find! Moving round the corner we got a bit more height and confirmed all three were now in the same field. More local birders were arriving to see the pipits, and as we watched them approach, we realised that among the stream of birds still passing through were three Hawfinches – county tick!
Then another phone call, from Rog Musgrove this time – an American Golden Plover had just been found at Steart, on the beach at Wall Common over high tide. The huge tidal range in Bridgwater Bay means that most waders end up very distant indeed as the tide drops, so, mindful of this, local birders piled over there as soon as possible, and it was a proper gathering of the Somerset clan. Pretty good scope views ensued, and everyone was happy – the last twitchable one had been 21 years previously, so it was a county tick for most, including me. Two in one day!
The small crowd gradually dispersed, but I hung on, keeping an eye on the bird, knowing that a couple of other friends were still on their way. This worked doubly well – they scored, and I got more bonus birds. As Paul Bowyer came through the dune ridge he flushed a Short-eared Owl, which showed very nicely, then while we were watching the plover he picked up a Great Grey Shrike flying over, heading towards Stolford.
Head utterly in a spin, I nipped the short distance round to Stolford myself – I didn’t see the shrike again but a Snow Bunting found the day before was an obliging and very welcome addition to the day’s tally. Then yet more news, this time from Cheddar Reservoir, and I had just enough daylight left to charge back over to there to see a freshly arrived Great Northern Diver, and to find an adult Med Gull in the roost. What a day!
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