As mentioned previously, I do like my cricket. However, one summer sport I've never been a fan of is golf. One thing I do know about golf is that the South African golfer, Gary Player, is famous for the quote "The more I practice, the luckier I get". It's true with birding as well you know.
I'll say the Snagglepuss catchphrase again, Heavens to Murgatroyd!
Or, Sufferin' Succotash! (see Sylvester the Cat)
Or, Blistering Barnacles! (see Captain Pugwash)
Yep, it's a Spoonbill. The news was duly put out on the information networks. Then came a heart stopping moment. A few minutes before anyone else arrived, the Spoonbill decided to take flight. "Oh no, don't do this to me now!" I thought. Thankfully it just circled the quarry a couple of times and landed back in the same place, and I gave a huge sigh of relief!
For the rest of the time the bird was feeding away constantly. It certainly wasn't a juvenile, as there were no black tips on the primaries as it was in flight. Perhaps a sub-adult? There was a patch of yellow on the end of the bill, and a little bit of a crest on the back of the head.
A Spoonbill in Staffordshire takes me back to the memorable summer of 1995. Reasons for it being memorable? One, it was really hot. Two, that stupid, media-hyped "Blur v Oasis" battle (which incidentally featured one each of both band's worst songs). Three, the Spoonbill in Tad Bay at Blithfield, which seemed to sleep all summer! It did nothing compared with this one.
1 comment:
An awesome find Mr P and a deserved reward for all your patching at 'Utch'.
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