Trapping Area, DBO - 0900hrs - bright, chilly start, clouding over later, W 2-4 - Spent the morning flogging around the willow scrub to the south of Long Pits where eventually saw the Hume`s twice in three hours; albeit briefly. Appeared as a duller, faded version of Yellow-browed with a darker bill and fainter wing bars. I didn`t hear it call but others did. It was within a flock of 20 plus tits, (including Long-tailed) crests, (including at least one Firecrest) and Chiffchaffs, and was not at all easy to see.
Also noted a few Song Thrushes, Redwings, Redpolls, Siskins, Goldfinches and a Sparrowhawk.
ps: Went to see The Big Year in Ashford with Pat this afternoon. The film is supposed to be a birdwatching comedy, starring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black, all of whom are very funny actors but the film is so poorly scripted that there were few laughs. The storyline is based on the three of them competing in a `Big Year` bird race wherby the challenge is to see as many species as possible in a calendar year across the North American continent. To be fair there were one or two humorous birding moments and, worryingly, I could relate to some of the scenarios from my twitching days... Technically there were one or two howlers but it was amusing to see the Yanks getting twitchy over European rarities such as Greater pecker and Pink-footed Goose! Probably the best fun I had was putting the names of some of the British birders I`ve know over the years to the film characters; even Pat played the game and she`s an innocent bystander!
Anyway, to sum up, I don't suppose it`ll be on at the cinema for long, (not judging by the audience of six other sado`s in the audience) so best wait `till it comes out on dvd in the New Year and at least try out the name game!
Perhaps, you could even let me know how you got on ...
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