After hearing that a superb male Black-throated Thrush had been found at Tophill Low,a free day today after the previous days patch visit,saw me heading over there and meeting up with Tim For the day.
After an easy drive over the Humber and into the home county,it wasn't long before i was driving along the approach road to Tophill.
A quick stop en-route to look at the Whooper Swan flock feeding in the flooded fields near Watton,saw a good count of 45 birds being present along with 45 Pink-footed Geese and at least 500 Greylags.
After meeting up with Tim and getting our permits for the day,we got our kit together and headed over to O reservoir to look for the Siberian visitor.
Plenty of scanning and several Blackbirds,Fieldfares and Redwings later,a movement just up from a feeding Blackbird saw me finding the target as he fed inside a Hawthorn.
It was pretty windy to say the least,with a blustery south westerly wind and i'm sure that is why he wasn't feeding on the exposed front of the bushes.
We carried on watching this beautiful bird,with occasional disappearances into the thick of the bushes and when he dropped down onto the ground out of view,but with patience we gained some lovely views.
He did move out in the open on a couple of occasions as he was feeding on Hawthorn and Rosehips and did drop down to drink at a small pool under the hedge he was feeding in,giving some superb views,what a cracking bird.
This is my fourth sighting of the species after a female at Newholm near Whitby in North Yorkshire in January 2010,a female at Adwick Washlands in West Yorkshire in January 2017 and a First Winter male,Grimsby,Lincolnshire in January 2020.
The species breeds in Eastern european Russia,to north-central Siberia and North-west Mongolia and winters from Iraq to Arabia and across southern Asia,so is a considerable way from its usual wintering range.
After enjoying the stunning Thrush we had a look on Watton nature reserve nearby and got some decent views of the male Smew,before he went for a fly around the area,my second in as many weeks and overhead a Knot flew west with Golden Plovers and Lapwing.
Also nearby was the wintering Red-necked Grebe,still on its temporary home of O reservoir and was watched sleeping on today's visit.
A quick look on South Marsh,saw us seeing a pair of Marsh Harriers,but little else.
Finally a visit to D Reservoir before Tim had to travel home and it wasn't long before we were watching the Red-crested Pochards,with 5 present today,3 males and 2 females,with a female Marsh Harrier flying south.
As i packed my kit away a Tawny Owl called in the car park,a nice end to the visit.
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| Male Black-throated Thrush,Showing How The Bird Was Sitting Just In Cover At Times. |
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| Some Phone-scoped Images. |
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