Pied Wheatear

I dashed up with my good friend Josh Burch to see the Pied Wheatear in Nottinghamshire yesterday, a short while after news came through of its continued presence. News was encouraging on the way up and I was looking forward to seeing my 25th new species of the year. The bird showed more-or-less on arrival but remained distant. People began to drift off as the day went on but the bird approached ever closer, eventually feeding along the gravel ridge just across the narrow channel of water in front of us, affording superb views through the scope and decent photographic opportunities, although the light was diminishing and I had forgotten my digiscoping camera so had to make do with phonescoping. A supporting cast of two fly-over Whooper Swans and an adult Yellow-legged Gull in the quarry added interest.