Whipsnade Zoo

Today saw my inevitable return to Whipsnade Zoo, this time with Ed Stubbs and Sam Jones, and this time the adult male BLACK-THROATED THRUSH duly performed very well. It divided its time feeding on berries in its favourite bush, and dropping to the ground to pull the occasional worm from the adjacent pig pen.

adult male Black-throated Thrush

Other birds included a Red Kite, a Mistle Thrush and around 50 Redwings. The highlight of the journey back was a flock of around 40 Lapwings near London Colney.

Whipsnade Zoo

A novel location for a twitch, or rather a brutal dip. Arriving just after midday, we missed the Black-throated Thrush at its favourite bush by about half an hour. I staked it out but Ingrid soon went off exploring around the zoo. Over two hours later news came through that the bird had been relocated by the railway - the crowd rushed over but literally just as we got there the bird flew. It hadn't necessarily gone far but almost an hour later there was no sight of it and Ingrid understandably wanted to call it a day. Damn frustrating it was, my idyllic plan for the day of eyeballing a Black-throated Thrush then a day snooping around the enclosures and exhibits, scuppered. We did see a couple of Red Kites (more en-route and on the way back), a Grey Wagtail, a Fieldfare and perhaps 30 Redwings...