Morning Glory - Short-Toed Eagle!!

Wow, what a morning! On my 3rd attempt I finally caught up with Britain's 3rd ever recorded Short-Toed Eagle, which now seems to have settled down nicely in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex. After dipping it in Hampshire last weekend and then at Ashdown Forest, yesterday evening, I was up at the crack of dawn (4.30am) for my 3rd attempt.

I met Shaun at 4.50am and we were on site by 6am, where we bumped into filthy twitchers' Jono Lethbridge and Dave Morrison (lol). After yesterday late evening's reports of it "showing well" after I had left, I expected it to be sat up nicely, roosting in a tree upon arrival. It wasn't and there had been no sign.

Forty five minutes passed then boom, someone out of view calls it, to our left. It glided low over the bracken and trees just 50 yards away, providing fantsatic views as it slowly gained height and edged further away, before settling in a dead tree for a few minutes, around 200 yards away, providing great scoped views. Quickly it was up again and slowly drifted out of view. What a cracker! (very record shots below)

 

 

We were back on the road by 7am, and I was suited and booted at my desk in work by 9am! You just can't beat a pre-work mega tick! I'll be surprised if I see a more impressive bird in Britain this year. If so it'll have to be something very special.