Black-winged Stilt
Such a shame that this wonderful bird was scared off!
I was there yesterday evening. No-one else about, just me and the Stilt. It didn’t mind my presence at all and was far enough away from the drove to feel comfortable.
Some pics on my blog here;
http://carlbovisnaturephotography.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/black-winged-stilt-cuckoo-hobby-and.html
Poor behaviour of birders will not endear ourselves to the general public. There is no excuse since there was plenty of space and the bird was very confiding, too.
Endemic everywhere these days Alick, people don’t own A Dog these days they own packs and bus them away from home to do their dirty!
The behaviour of some of the birdwatchers there yesterday also left a lot to be desired…...........
I was there between 0900 and 1100 and there was no sign of it on the original pool nor on other small pools in the vicinity.
Dogs that are walked on West Moor can be a perishing nuisance. The majority of owners and their charges are OK, but there are a few that just seem to let them run wild. When I first found the stilt, I was engrossed in watching and photographing it. What can be best described as a ‘pack’ of 5 dogs appeared out of nowhere, barking and out of control. I just about jumped out of my skin. When I remonstrated with the man accompanying the dogs (which involved me shouting a request to control the dogs over the barking) he merely said they were under control. Needless to say, that didn’t go down well and there ensued a verbal altercation.
It seems there is a hard core of cretinous dog owners that believe the dogs are only ‘out of control’ when blood is spilt. West Moor is my local patch and I walk it often. If it happens again, I will report it to the police.
Sadly the bird was not there are 7:30 this morning. I was informed that a dog walker got too close late yesterday evening and it flew off.
If it does return, I would be grateful for an update here so that I can try again after work.
Many thanks, Robin
A correction to the Grid Ref given on Birdguides this am - The Stilt is located at ST 420221
Bird is still present this pm at ST 425223. Park in the village of Thorney & walk along Pitt Drove to first small humpback bridge & view the small area of flood water to your right.
One adult on West Moor, Hambridge this morning.