Blyth`s Reed Warbler & more daftness

Lade - 0700hrs - cool, cloudy, w 2 -Another poor night in the garden moth trap with only Riband Wave new for the year. Over the pits it was a case of as you were with large numbers of Swifts and hirundines forced to hawk for insects low over the water.
Dungeness - 1300hrs - On the way back from Ashford news came through from MH of a mega at Dungeness...
Blyth`s Reed Warbler - By the time I arrived at the southern end of the Trapping Area the bird hadn`t been heard for a short while, but after an hour and a half, at 1430hrs, it began to sing once more and continued for the next 20 minutes, more or less non-stop. A typical acrocephalus song full of rich and varied notes with clips of Song Thrush and Nightingale, much clicking and even a chacking like Great Reed Warbler note. I had a couple of brief views of what was a bland looking reed warbler, but really, as is often the case with this type of skulking LBJ, it was all about the song. So, my first lifer for a while, and many thanks to David Walker for yet another incredible warbler find at Dungeness.

                                Blyth`s Reed Warbler, showing like a good `un...

Springwatch - 2/12
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I tuned into the latest episode from Masai Minsmere last night just as the Governor, Mr Chris Packham, was strutting around impersonating a Bittern. Oh dear, his credibility rating immediately plummeted, but then he was with Mr Silly Hughes-Games who proceeded to cavort about the reedbed, in a wet suit, to highlight where the predators were. Why?
On the plus side there were some nice shots of Bittern and Bullfinch at the nest, although poor fluffy- tail Michaela didn`t sound too good when commentating on a big old nasty crow murdering a cutesy, little Blackberry - now, it would've been a different story if the crow had picked on General Groundwort, Chief of the Efrafa from Watership Down...Oh, never mind...
However, our hero of the Maltese Bird Slayers, was down in Africa again on `his` Cuckoo hunt and they showed a clip of a local armed with a catapult who claimed to be a dead shot; well I`ll tell you what dear reader, he wouldn`t have made it my village gang - three attempts to hit a tin can at 20 yards, pathetic! The birds are safe.
Anyhow, I lost interest for while and on returning from switching on the garden moth trap a glance at the telly revealed a film being shown - Masai Minsmere had been usurped by Middle Earth, it was Lord of the Rings? One of my favourite films, it had to be, there was Bilbo Baggins, hang on a minute though he`d got a pair of Leicas round his neck! Oh, sorry, it was Bill....Oddie, of course, silly me, I`m getting me Bills and Bilbos in a muddle. I`ll have to pay more attention tonight...