That's 3 dips in a row now and to be honest I was lucky with the Carrot Billed Tern at Welney as I only saw that about 20 minutes before it took off north.
Last year I went on a bad run, 7 dips in a row. It seems the more effort I made, the more I went for the worse it got. It was getting depressing. No matter my friends cheered me up by kindly taking the p*ss, telling me that they have never had such a bad run in the million years they have been birding and calling me Deeply Dippy whenever possible. What would I do without them. Luckily the bad luck broke, with something I can't quite remember and all of a sudden the bad times were forgotten and I was on a winning streak again. of 1!! Surely it can't be as bad again this time! Watch this space.
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Escuse me waiter, there's a cuckoo in my dip
8pm on Friday night I get the text I was hoping would not arrive, the cuckoo had been seen again in Kelling along the path where Jamie and I had spent an unsuccessful hour diligently looking for a farmer to abuse, earlier that day. Typical. There was no way I was going again that would be silly. By 9.00pm I had swapped numerous texts and calls with fellow birders Shaun and Bradders Junior to confirm I was definitely not going again, by 9.45pm I had packed my rucksack, made some sarnies and set the alarm for 4.30am. I just couldn't say no. Yet again I was driving somehow too!
I picked up Shaun at 4.50am and this time we made good time arriving back at Kelling before 7.00am. There was a distinct lack of cars and birders (and cuckoos!). We met Bradders Junior who had made his own way up and then spent an almost birdless 2 hours checking every bush, trees and post. The plan had been tick cuckoo within 10 minutes, do some high fives and wiping of brows, get in the car and either get home early or possibly tick AMERICAN Golden Plover at Breydon. No time now to go to Breydon despite news that the AMERICAN Golden Plover was showing well so off home we went again, tails between our legs. Such a shame it was not a Pacific as I need that and could with some effort have got that on either dip.
Back at home feeling a bit stupid for going up again on such sketchy news I wait for the inevitable that an hour after we left the cuckoo was found again this time riding a unicycle up and down Cley High Street, juggling chainsaws, before stopping to sign copies of it's latest book "100 sure fire ways to disappear 2 minutes before Monkey arrives" . Well thankfully this didn't happen but what did happen was after 5 days of study the AMERICAN Golden Plover turned into a Pacific Golden Plover! Fair enough, it had only been showing well for the best part of a week! There's no point getting the hump, I just chuckled to myself and opened the second bottle of scotch. There's always next time.
I picked up Shaun at 4.50am and this time we made good time arriving back at Kelling before 7.00am. There was a distinct lack of cars and birders (and cuckoos!). We met Bradders Junior who had made his own way up and then spent an almost birdless 2 hours checking every bush, trees and post. The plan had been tick cuckoo within 10 minutes, do some high fives and wiping of brows, get in the car and either get home early or possibly tick AMERICAN Golden Plover at Breydon. No time now to go to Breydon despite news that the AMERICAN Golden Plover was showing well so off home we went again, tails between our legs. Such a shame it was not a Pacific as I need that and could with some effort have got that on either dip.
Back at home feeling a bit stupid for going up again on such sketchy news I wait for the inevitable that an hour after we left the cuckoo was found again this time riding a unicycle up and down Cley High Street, juggling chainsaws, before stopping to sign copies of it's latest book "100 sure fire ways to disappear 2 minutes before Monkey arrives" . Well thankfully this didn't happen but what did happen was after 5 days of study the AMERICAN Golden Plover turned into a Pacific Golden Plover! Fair enough, it had only been showing well for the best part of a week! There's no point getting the hump, I just chuckled to myself and opened the second bottle of scotch. There's always next time.
Monday, 27 July 2009
A Great Spotted Waste of Time
Surprisingly by Thursday afternoon I had forgotten all about the Blue Cheeked one that had got away and was busying myself in the garden whilst looking after the kids (Jamie 9) and Sophie (11). Both myself and my patient wife, Julia, work full time so looking after them over the summer holidays has to be planned like a military operation. This week I had Thursday and Fri off.
Around 5pm I receive a call from Wanstead Birder "The Leth" to tell me a Great Spotted Cuckoo was in Salthouse, Norfolk. Much debate was had about whether we should go together etc in the morning with offspring in tow.
Now a tick is a tick and some ticks are better than others. In the big scheme of things a Great Spotted Cuckoo is not a Blue Cheeked Bee eater, an Oriental Pratincol or a Collared Flycatcher but it is smart and therefore on a hit list of birds I really want to see. Also on this list is Alpine Swift and European Bee eater. To me not just rare, not just a tick, but has a bit of a wow factor. Anyway.....
My 9 year old Jamie is actually showing some interest in birding. Not as much as he shows in Doctor Who, Ben 10, computer games, Lego or cheese and marmite sandwiches (yuk!) He actually has an good little list going with such rarities on it as Barrow's Goldeneye; Snowy Owl and more recently Oriental Practincole. Sophie on the other hand has less than no interest in birding, so when I tempted her with a 2.5 hour drive to north Norfolk in the morning she was not impressed. To be honest I can't blame her. After some arranging and Julia reminding me 5 times that I was supposed to be off work looking after the kids and not arranging for them to be looked after by her Mum, who she quite rightly pointed out has actually looked after them for 2 days this week already, it was arranged to drop Sophie on route. I could have done without driving myself as I have done more than my fair share of driving on birding/twitching jaunts this year (please note Hawky, Shaun et al) The previously mentioned Leth offered a lift but wanted to stay out all day, the unemployed can do that as they have nothing else to do apart from birding, blogging and eating Double Deckers, but I had to be back by 3pm as Sophie had a birthday party to go to and I had to pick her up on route.
7.30am The Leth was already on the phone gripping me off and I still had to get both kids up and ready. Amazingly I was out by 8.00am, a minor achievement bearing in mind Sophie is in that turning into a teenager zone and usually gets up after 10am on a day off, and she was duly at her grandparents by 8.20am. I should have known that today was not going to turn out quite as planned. Road works on the M25 between the A12 and the M11 meant we crept along so slow I was surprised we didn't leave a silvery trail behind us on the tarmac. Once on the M11 we made good time.
This where things started to really slow down. 3, yes 3 bloody tractor type farm vehicles delayed our journey over the next hour. I was sure I could see the farmers p*ssing themselves laughing. One in particular was an over wide load blocking the road which meant no over taking until it pulled off. That one alone delayed us by around 20 minutes. I was starting to get anxious but a call from Hawky to confirm still showing well calmed me down. Less than 30 minutes to go.
We arrived at Salthouse and I could see a gathering of 30+ birders on the hill looking back
in-land towards where the bird must be. We quickly parked in the road leading up to the beach car park and asked for directions. A fellow birder pointed to a sycamore tree about 1/2 mile away and said to park here and walk.
Grabbing the bins, scope and camera we speed walked 9/10s of the half a mile, passing a much closer parking spot (aaarrrgggh), to the bird checking with the smiley birders walking back past us that it is still there. Yes it is we are told every time, showing well!
At the bottom of the slope to the field where to view the bird just 100 yards away from it we get the final confirmation, it's still there, phew. The line of birders is now just 30 yards in front, I have the scope legs down in preparation. Slightly out of breath through a mixture of the speed walking and excitement,
Me - "Where am I looking?"
Birder "It's just flown mate, about 30 seconds ago, lost to sight"
Me - "You're having a laugh?"
Birder - "No"
Me - " For ****s sake"
Jamie - "Daaaaaaaaad. Can we go now? "
I knew that was it. Everyone there had seen it. Most people left slapping each other on the back and doing high fives, popping open bottles of champagne, deliberately rubbing it in! I spent 2.5 hours searching every field, every bush and every tree, not for the cuckoo, I knew that had gone, I just wanted to find a farmer to and stick his combined harvester up his arse. And I couldn't even find one of them!
Should we have ticked the cuckoo immediately we had planned to head to Breydon to see the American Golden Plover as Jamie has not seen one. Pity it wasn't a Pacific as I need that too!!!!!
We headed home disappointed, the 2nd dip in 3 days and Jamie's 1st ever dip. Unfortunately the only dips Jamie knew where the ones he sticks carrots and curly wurlys in and smears all over the kitchen table, floor, walls, cat etc. My advise that he better get used to it didn't help. Birding with Dad has officially slipped down the list of thing he likes to do to just below homework and tidying his room. Oh well until the next time.
That's the 2nd Great Spotted Cuckoo I have dipped. The 1st one by less than 5 minutes in Dungeness a couple of years ago, so at least I am getting closer! Or so I thought.
Around 5pm I receive a call from Wanstead Birder "The Leth" to tell me a Great Spotted Cuckoo was in Salthouse, Norfolk. Much debate was had about whether we should go together etc in the morning with offspring in tow.
Now a tick is a tick and some ticks are better than others. In the big scheme of things a Great Spotted Cuckoo is not a Blue Cheeked Bee eater, an Oriental Pratincol or a Collared Flycatcher but it is smart and therefore on a hit list of birds I really want to see. Also on this list is Alpine Swift and European Bee eater. To me not just rare, not just a tick, but has a bit of a wow factor. Anyway.....
My 9 year old Jamie is actually showing some interest in birding. Not as much as he shows in Doctor Who, Ben 10, computer games, Lego or cheese and marmite sandwiches (yuk!) He actually has an good little list going with such rarities on it as Barrow's Goldeneye; Snowy Owl and more recently Oriental Practincole. Sophie on the other hand has less than no interest in birding, so when I tempted her with a 2.5 hour drive to north Norfolk in the morning she was not impressed. To be honest I can't blame her. After some arranging and Julia reminding me 5 times that I was supposed to be off work looking after the kids and not arranging for them to be looked after by her Mum, who she quite rightly pointed out has actually looked after them for 2 days this week already, it was arranged to drop Sophie on route. I could have done without driving myself as I have done more than my fair share of driving on birding/twitching jaunts this year (please note Hawky, Shaun et al) The previously mentioned Leth offered a lift but wanted to stay out all day, the unemployed can do that as they have nothing else to do apart from birding, blogging and eating Double Deckers, but I had to be back by 3pm as Sophie had a birthday party to go to and I had to pick her up on route.
7.30am The Leth was already on the phone gripping me off and I still had to get both kids up and ready. Amazingly I was out by 8.00am, a minor achievement bearing in mind Sophie is in that turning into a teenager zone and usually gets up after 10am on a day off, and she was duly at her grandparents by 8.20am. I should have known that today was not going to turn out quite as planned. Road works on the M25 between the A12 and the M11 meant we crept along so slow I was surprised we didn't leave a silvery trail behind us on the tarmac. Once on the M11 we made good time.
This where things started to really slow down. 3, yes 3 bloody tractor type farm vehicles delayed our journey over the next hour. I was sure I could see the farmers p*ssing themselves laughing. One in particular was an over wide load blocking the road which meant no over taking until it pulled off. That one alone delayed us by around 20 minutes. I was starting to get anxious but a call from Hawky to confirm still showing well calmed me down. Less than 30 minutes to go.
We arrived at Salthouse and I could see a gathering of 30+ birders on the hill looking back
in-land towards where the bird must be. We quickly parked in the road leading up to the beach car park and asked for directions. A fellow birder pointed to a sycamore tree about 1/2 mile away and said to park here and walk.
Grabbing the bins, scope and camera we speed walked 9/10s of the half a mile, passing a much closer parking spot (aaarrrgggh), to the bird checking with the smiley birders walking back past us that it is still there. Yes it is we are told every time, showing well!
At the bottom of the slope to the field where to view the bird just 100 yards away from it we get the final confirmation, it's still there, phew. The line of birders is now just 30 yards in front, I have the scope legs down in preparation. Slightly out of breath through a mixture of the speed walking and excitement,
Me - "Where am I looking?"
Birder "It's just flown mate, about 30 seconds ago, lost to sight"
Me - "You're having a laugh?"
Birder - "No"
Me - " For ****s sake"
Jamie - "Daaaaaaaaad. Can we go now? "
I knew that was it. Everyone there had seen it. Most people left slapping each other on the back and doing high fives, popping open bottles of champagne, deliberately rubbing it in! I spent 2.5 hours searching every field, every bush and every tree, not for the cuckoo, I knew that had gone, I just wanted to find a farmer to and stick his combined harvester up his arse. And I couldn't even find one of them!
Should we have ticked the cuckoo immediately we had planned to head to Breydon to see the American Golden Plover as Jamie has not seen one. Pity it wasn't a Pacific as I need that too!!!!!
We headed home disappointed, the 2nd dip in 3 days and Jamie's 1st ever dip. Unfortunately the only dips Jamie knew where the ones he sticks carrots and curly wurlys in and smears all over the kitchen table, floor, walls, cat etc. My advise that he better get used to it didn't help. Birding with Dad has officially slipped down the list of thing he likes to do to just below homework and tidying his room. Oh well until the next time.
That's the 2nd Great Spotted Cuckoo I have dipped. The 1st one by less than 5 minutes in Dungeness a couple of years ago, so at least I am getting closer! Or so I thought.
A Bare Faced Bee eater
You know what, I think I might be mad. I keep asking myself what other explantion there could be.
Wed 22nd July 11am - ish. I am sitting there at work writing a detailed report on some load of twaddle, pausing only for tea and lots of sighing. A text arrives, and I do a double take as I read Blue Cheeked Beater Kent. What! I contented myself by telling myself it will do a couple of circuits of the field it's in then bugger off after 2 minutes so don't worry about it. Some 1 and a half hours later it is still there and showing well.
I approached my boss " Is it ok if I slip away a bit early tonight?" .........Please don't ask why, please don't why, please don't ask why......
Boss - No problem what sort of time?
Me - Errr well err as soon as possible really ......... please don't ask why, please don't ask why.......
Boss - Yeh no problem
Me - Great I appreciate that cheers, I'll just finish off and be out of here in 10 minutes, thanks
Boss - No worries, why what you doing that's so important
Me - sh*t!
Now at this point I had approximately 1.8 seconds to reply, any longer it would be obvious I was lying so I just had to be honest.
Me - er, the kid's childminder has a problem, yeh that's it, and er I have to pick them up and er go to Kent (well a hint of truth made me feel a little less dishonest) and er see my, my cousin. Yes that's it. Phew.
I think I just about got away with it!
5 minutes later I was on my way, no bins, no scope, no coat, no chance. 2 hours later I arrive approximately 3 hours after the bird disappeared over the horizon. To cut a long and boring story short. 1 hour later I left tickless, I consoled myself that at least I had given it a go and apart from the Sib Thrush in Norfolk earlier in the year I hadn't really dipped out much this year so I couldn't really complain.
Wed 22nd July 11am - ish. I am sitting there at work writing a detailed report on some load of twaddle, pausing only for tea and lots of sighing. A text arrives, and I do a double take as I read Blue Cheeked Beater Kent. What! I contented myself by telling myself it will do a couple of circuits of the field it's in then bugger off after 2 minutes so don't worry about it. Some 1 and a half hours later it is still there and showing well.
I approached my boss " Is it ok if I slip away a bit early tonight?" .........Please don't ask why, please don't why, please don't ask why......
Boss - No problem what sort of time?
Me - Errr well err as soon as possible really ......... please don't ask why, please don't ask why.......
Boss - Yeh no problem
Me - Great I appreciate that cheers, I'll just finish off and be out of here in 10 minutes, thanks
Boss - No worries, why what you doing that's so important
Me - sh*t!
Now at this point I had approximately 1.8 seconds to reply, any longer it would be obvious I was lying so I just had to be honest.
Me - er, the kid's childminder has a problem, yeh that's it, and er I have to pick them up and er go to Kent (well a hint of truth made me feel a little less dishonest) and er see my, my cousin. Yes that's it. Phew.
I think I just about got away with it!
5 minutes later I was on my way, no bins, no scope, no coat, no chance. 2 hours later I arrive approximately 3 hours after the bird disappeared over the horizon. To cut a long and boring story short. 1 hour later I left tickless, I consoled myself that at least I had given it a go and apart from the Sib Thrush in Norfolk earlier in the year I hadn't really dipped out much this year so I couldn't really complain.
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