Bluetail Blues and fine Rough-leg

On Saturday 23rd October, was a really frustrating day trying to photograph the Red- flanked Bluetail in Arnold's Walk. A mid morning shift 10.30 to 1pm revealed just a 15 second view high in Sycamore viewed half way up on the diagonal path running up towards Arnold's walk. I was forced to go home and clean up after my tripod fell over in vegetation and picking it up, my hands and the tripod were covering in fresh dog excrement, urrrghhh! Absolutely disgusting.

Washing my hands and tripod in the puddle at the bottom, I then had to go home and get everything, hands and tripod thoroughly bleached.

At about 1.40pm I arrived at Potter's Bridge near Southwold and taking the path just north of the bridge just 10 yards east of the road I spotted a magnificent Rough- legged Buzzard flying north over the marshes. It performed beautifully hovering and then perching for five minutes in atree showing a cream- white head and upper breast and a very dark- brownish belly, a striking bird which indicates it is an immature bird. It then flew north over the fields.

My cue to leave, returning to Arnold's Walk I spent the next 2 1/2 hours not seeing the Bluetail at all, only to be told the bird had been showing well near the area of the top path for the whole period of my absence.