Sunday, November 12, 2006

Potential First For Britain!


A quick dash to Sawbridgeworth Marsh before the start of the day’s hectic social whirl. Sunday morning is management morning so the reserve was filled with woodsmoke, the swish of scythes, and as always good conversation with the regular management group.

Birdwise the marsh was typically quiet: A Water Rail calling in the reeds, a Redwing in the bushes, A few Bullfinches in the usual bushes, Goldfinch, 3 Mistle Thrushes, Wren, Blue Tit, GSW calling, 1 Snipe flushed from the marsh. And then as I was leaving, a Common Buzzard over – my first for the reserve.

Well I say Common Buzzard. I thought about taking a photo, but what if I posted it and a passing expert saw differently? I could have my own thread on Birdforum, full of experts wondering how I had missed the distinctive puce eyelids and blunted third primary of Britain’s first Patagonian Bush-Buzzard! Tomorrow the marsh could be heaving with thousands of twitchers pushing and shoving, blocking the roads with hastily parked cars and trampling the reed-bed flat!

So I let it fly over undisturbed, and took a photo of some Bull-rushes instead.

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