High Gloss Gonalston

A fairly quiet week. A trip to Alkborough Flats was ill-judged as an extremely high tide had dispersed all the birds. A cold wind added to the unlikelihood of seeing the smaller target birds, the beardies.

I moved on to North Cave where ringed plover were in evidence but no sign of little ringed plover which had been reported or misreported...

Grey wagtails and a couple of white wagtails were spotted among large numbers of piedwags.

Friday 27th tempted me on a nicer day down to Gonalston in Nottinghamshire for a long-staying glossy ibis. En route I called at Rufford CP but no sign of hawfinch.

I found the ibis with no difficulty as a few birders were in situ. The bird was fairly distant in a rather wet horse paddock.

Glossy Ibis

Just to prove the point...through the horse's legs!!

Glossy Ibis

The locals said the bird sometimes ''flies across the road and lands on these wet patches.'' This would mean the bird would be about 10 feet away just over a very low hedge. Seemed most unlikely to me. I was in the car looking at my maps when the bird did as prophesied. So here goes: dead close, great light, low ISO, almost luminous when it caught the sunlight. Brilliant!

Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis

However overall things are a bit too quiet for me. Time for a mega!!

176 UK 2015