The Sprosser and the butterfly

I had ticked Thrush Nightingale at Dungeness in early May 1994, but though I saw it and heard it singing, the views were not as good as I would have liked. So, when one trapped at Landguard Obs in Suffolk in late August 1995 showed signs not only of putting in an extended stay but also of being abnormally showy, James McGill and I teamed up with Bill Urwin to make a play for it.

We arrived at Landguard before dawn on Sunday 3 September and positioned ourselves in front of the famous Icky Ridge, the bird’s favoured haunt, at first light. The usual anxious dawn wait, but thankfully not for long – Bill noticed a movement at the base of the ridge, then suddenly the Sprosser hopped out into the open. Fantastic views! We watched it for a long time, knowing we might never have a chance of such views of Thrush Nightingale again (and it hasn’t happened yet, 25 years later). But eventually we wandered away to have a look around and give thought to what else to do with the rest of the day.

News of a Greenish Warbler in Norfolk made up our minds. With Bill driving we were in Cromer in what seemed like no time, and joined a small crowd in the site of the old zoo. In what was now glorious warm sunshine, the Greenish was showing well and singing away – a new and interesting experience for me. Our next target was a Barred Warbler at Gramborough Hill near Salthouse, and again we were blessed and it did not take long after arrival to get good views. A nice bonus – not exactly brightly coloured, and no big deal for birders living on the east coast, but they’re much rarer in the southwest and I’d seen very few up to then.

What to do next? Well, another Greenish Warbler had been found in Wells Woods, so we headed to Holkham to look for it – why not? We hadn’t been there long though, and hadn’t seen the bird, when another pager message came through – Camberwell Beauty, in Norfolk! A rare and beautiful butterfly, and difficult to twitch, it was a big need for all of us, and one appeared to be hanging around in Hopton, near Great Yarmouth. We left immediately.

It’s probably best if I draw a veil over Bill’s driving on that leg, especially on the Norwich bypass – it was, erm, committed (though as it was Bill I always felt safe, strangely – well mostly, anyway). But he got us to Hopton Garden Centre in one piece and in double-quick time. On a sunny Sunday afternoon the garden centre was understandably busy anyway, and several other birders were already there too. The Camberwell Beauty had been favouring a buddleia just outside one of the large sheds full of plants and potential buyers, but had gone missing not long before we got there. Over the course of the next hour or so the bemused punters were treated to the sight of a bunch of nerds with bins scurrying around as the butterfly toured the site, being seen briefly before moving on. But at last it returned to its favoured buddleia and stayed there long enough for everyone, including us, to catch up with it. And what a wondrous, gorgeous thing it was! We attracted a crowd ourselves, watching the watchers, and were able to point it out to them and explain why it was so special. A fantastic experience, and very funny too.

After a while the Camberwell Beauty went off on a flyabout again, and as it was mid-afternoon we decided to start heading back towards the southwest. But we had one last stop to make on the way. A few days before, an adult Long-tailed Skua had turned up at Farmoor Reservoir in Oxfordshire and, perhaps even more surprisingly, it had stuck around. So we dropped in, and were so glad we did – not only was it an astonishingly beautiful bird, but so confiding too – the views were simply mind-blowing! It was a stunning end to a brilliant day.