Phylloscopus passage
Now with a title like that you would think that it might be a proper bird blog. Fear not dear reader, the swearing will start shortly!
During my alloted patch time yesterday, I had spied some Larids on the foreshore in two directions and hatched a cunning plan to look at them all. There were some dodgy lookers (aren't there always) so I reckoned that I had the time and the motivation to get to them all.
Except for the children. Yes, the children ruined my birding day. Stupid bloody bastard children floating up the Thames in a flotilla of bright blue canoes that seemed far to efficient at not sinking them into the mud to my mind. Up they came, all along the area where the gulls were sitting and proceeding to make so much bastard noise with screaming and shouting and screaming and screaming that all of the gulls fucked off. Every single one. Without exception.
Naturally I stood on the bank and started to swear. But I still had time on my hands and Ornithology to do, so I ended up watching House Sparrows dust bathing. Scant consolation for an hour of staring at gulls.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y-NyoUC9LJA/SpOLuIGhTeI/AAAAAAAAFT0/lK9HFlM2AX0/s400/house+sparrow+dust+bathing.jpg)
A House Sparrow doing fluttering on the ground in dust.
Whilst watching and digimonning said sparrows a bloody warbler stuck it's cheeky little head out of the bushes. Result! So I proceeded to watch and snap. A little reticently though, as this area is partially residential. Standing by some bushes which are near some open windows taking photos and muttering things like 'come on', 'come out', 'thaaats it' etc etc is probably not the look I was going for.
Anyway, here is a rubbish picture of the Phylloscopus that you were waiting for...
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y-NyoUC9LJA/SpOLty7H-qI/AAAAAAAAFTs/ykQEW-dZl6g/s400/chiffchaff.jpg)
A Chiffchaff doing juvenile passage migrancy.
1 comments:
Ah yes, awkward misunderstood birding moments... On an unseasonably hot day in March last year I was standing on a beach on the Wirral scoping out towards a group of waders on some rocks and managed to find a purple sand. This was a pretty good find for me, so I said "score!" out loud.
I didn't notice the pair of kids running about in what looked like, to onlookers, to be my line of sight until after I'd pulled out my camera to snap a few record shots off...
Was getting dirty looks all day after that :)
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