Although I try to remain grown-up about twitching these days, I still crack now and again, give up a night's sleep and hit the tarmac...which is why I was heading north on the M6 at warp factor 12 in the early hours of Saturday.
I'd tried to resist the charms of the Paddyfield Warbler at Torness Power Station, using time honoured excuses _ "I couldn't get a carload to go,"..."there'll be another one closer one day,"..."It's only a bird," etc etc etc.
Then the Paddyfield Warbler began to entice me (the foul temptress) a full seven days before my trip north _ it persisted in showing very well all week in the small car park of a Scottish power station.
With heavy rain and thick cloud on Friday night I knew it wasn't going anywhere so I gave in to temptation and after picking up Pete Allen, who was only back from the Scillies for an hour before falling into my wheels, we were off.
Pete managed to sleep through all CDs in the car north _ even the Reverend Horton Heat had no effect on him.
To the uninitiated, the good Rev was like the bastard offspring of the Stray Cats and Motorhead, a psychobilly guitarist par excellence, before he succumbed to the black arts of country and western and mellowed right out...such is life.
Check him out at www.reverendhortonheat.com but he's not so angry nowadays....
Anyway, the Paddyfield Warbler made us wait an anxious 30 minutes (the best rarities alway know how to work an audience) before emerging to feed at point blank range _ superb!
I was surprised this bird had originally been reported as a Booted Warbler _ it looked more like a Red Eyed Vireo, given its striking head pattern.
Check out Ray Wilson's and Steve Evan's pictures/videograbs of it on www.surfbirds.com
Barnacle geese, woodcock, blackcaps and goldcrests were the supporting cast on this bleak morning, but a tick is a tick!!!!!
Back home, corn buntings and red legged partridge joined a large winter flock of more than 100 jackdaws out on Plex Moss, and the drake lesser scaup was still at Myerscough, north of Preston.
Don't worry about the green sheen on the head of this bird _ the first for the UK in 1987 had that too!!!
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies.
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