Reports were still being posted of the Great Reed Warbler singing his heart out every day at Paxton Pits. This has been going on for over three weeks now and with the numbers of visitors probably starting to reduce it seemed to be time for a visit.
Any location, that involves me having to travel around the M25, takes some serious consideration before I decide to take it on. However, this would be a life tick for me, so in the end I decided to go. An early start saw me on site by around 08.30. A fifteen minute walk got me to the location, at the southern end of Washout Pit, where I found about half a dozen people already waiting for a view of the bird.
The reports had been correct. It may not show that often but it sings non stop. I spent the next three hours trying to spot it and to track its movement from the song coming from deep within the reed bed.
The song was loud and distinct and you always felt that it was close by and about to show. It did, eventually, and we had about five minutes of it sitting out on top of the reeds still belting out the song.
I had been wondering why the bird had stayed in the same location for so long. It turns out that it is protected by a large expanse of water. It is probably just as well. We all feel that we are the "special one" and should be allowed a much closer view than everyone else. Without the water someone would have got too close and flushed it by now.
My shots are a big crop but they are the best I could get and it was nice to come away with a record shot as well as a life tick.
Not much else photographed that day although there were Hobby and Nightingales at the site. I got a few shots of Damselflies that will be in the next blog and then later a pair of juvenile Grey Partridge attempting to blend in with the background......
...... and a bit of colour with a Cardinal Beetle.
The day turned out to be a bit more of a twitch than I would have liked and it involved a lot of standing around and waiting but I can't complain at the outcome.
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