Landguard Blues

I received a message early morning stating that a rare warbler, a Melodious warbler had been sighted at Landguard Point. It was frustrating as I couldn't twitch it until mid afternoon. With regular updates stating it was still being seen, I decided to try for it. I drove down to the Landguard Point, which is an area of land jutting out between Felixstowe seafront and the huge Felixstowe Docks. and because of its position receives a lot of exciting migrants and Sunday morning was no exception. 

Sadly, by the time we got there, the weather had worsened and we battled a southerly gale and the news that bird had since long gone to ground, and flown off thus ending my proud record of never having dipped anything I had twitched at Landguard. Incidently, Melodious warbler is my big bogey bird. A bogey bird, is a bird you just cannot seem to see whilst all your friends have seen it!

I have tried twitching Melodious warblers at a variety of places including Walton on the Naze, Lowestoft, Scilly Isles and tried several times to see it in its stronghold of Spain and other parts of Southern Europe to no avail and I can now add Landguard Point to this ever burgeoning and sorrowful list.

On a more positive front, in the front garden this morning a recently fledged juvenile Starling showed very well and posed very nicely for photos by sitting in the Rose bed and then feeding underneath the Pyracantha bushes (planted to attract Waxwings- they haven't occurred yet but fingers crossed for December/ January/ February time).

Annoyingly the bird showed again the next day but not in the evening when I tried again, very frustrating!