Nottingham RSPB
local group

Raised Brows at Christmas

Jan had come up with the idea of a pre-Christmas 'tinsel' walk. The idea being to have a couple of hours birdwatching and then retire to the pub for a drink. 17 of us thought this a very good idea and we all met up at 9am on Sunday 21st December.

The weather could not have been better, although the wind was biting in exposed places. We had a leisurely walk around the Colwick Lake and then spent a time in the wooded area. Some good birds were found, including Grey Wagtail, Bullfinch and Willow Tit. I began to feel the draw of the pub, but then we met another birder who told us of two Smew on the West Lake. About half the group decided to go for these. They were easy to find and a pleasure to watch. A few more of the group drifted away after seeing them. Just before we decided to leave a Kingfisher was spotted and this put on a real performance for us. Flying along a line of trees, perching every now and then and even catching a fish. We watched it for about ten minutes, does it get any better than this? Read on.

As we walked happily back towards the car park we stopped to speak to Nigel the warden and while talking to him, Richard our son spotted a Chiffchaff in a Willow. Not bad for a none birder (or so he claims). The walk to the cars continued and about a hundred yards from our destination a small bird flew over our heads. It called, a very ‘Crest like call. Together Terry Adams and I saw the bird land in a nearby tree, first identification was a Goldcrest. But I noticed a glaring wing bar, we got closer. The bird sat quite still on a branch and we were looking at a Yellow-browed Warbler! All of those present were trying to take in all the details of the plumage, Rick with his 10x zoom digital camera was trying to get a picture. But after about 30 or 40 seconds a lady walked by with her dog, this barked at our gathering and the bird flew off. But we had seen enough for a good identification. We made our way to the Warden's hut to report the sighting and Nigel abandoned his lunch break to go back and try to relocate the bird.

The group broke up, all thoughts of a visit to the pub gone. It took me about ten minutes to stop shaking and then we too left the site.

There is a moral to this tale, no matter how late in the day or how much you want to get home always check the bird in question. Most times it will be a common species, but every now and then...!