Going abroad (18/03/2012)

Yes, I know I left it late but today decided to go for the Common Yellowthroat and wasn't to be disappointed.  I arrived on site around 7.30am and after speaking to a local I trudged up the hill with no sign of the bird, just a pair of Bullfinches.  I then went up the other side of the hedgerow and as I reached the top of the hill with a large bramble a very yellow bird popped up in front of me - it was the bird and wow didn't the yellow glow in the early morning sunshine.

A reeled off a couple of quick snaps before it flew and then got the only other birder present, into the general area where I saw it.  We then picked it up feeding close to the floor in the little copse at the top of the hill where it showed really quite well for the 4 or 5 birders present.

I then drove a bit down the road to the Ebbw River where I immediately found a pair of Yellow Wagtails, then a Kingfisher and best of all, my favourite bird, a Dipper seen near the green bridge a bit further up the river.  It was preening underneath the bridge on a small stone in the river.

Next onto Chew Valley Lake where there was no sign of the Lesser Scaup or Garganey and trying to find where to purchase a permit proved a bit exasperating so eventually I gave up and consoled myself with reasonable views of the Spotted Sandpiper at Herriott's Bridge.  It had very yellow legs and the main ID pointer, the plain tertials.  What helped even more was one of the birders present managed to get a pretty good photo of it so we could look at the salient features.