After staying over at a slightly unsettling guest house in Chesterfield, I made the short journey to Pig Lane where I was the only birder present for about an hour and wasted time, I later learned, looking in the wrong place. A couple of birders with local know-how turned up and pointed out the bird's regular, faraway hedge, which I remained fixed on. Just as I was going to pack up and carry on home, I noticed the first-winter female Dusky Thrush concealed in the thicket before it came out to feed in the open just as a few other hopefuls arrived at the scene. This success, along with fly-overs from a couple of heard-only Common Crossbills and three Mandarins, made for a very satisfying, if sodden, visit.
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| Dusky Thrush (distant!) |
