Saturday 18th February 2012

   Today saw a trip to Newport on the cards. A 1st winter male Common Yellowthroat, had been identified on Thursday evening, so here we go, first real twitch of the year! Got to the designated parking field, to be told they were not using it anymore and was told where the new car park was. Not the best of starts. But, where i parked i could see all the birders, so not as bad as i had thought. Walked up the hill to where everyone was, a chap pointed to where i could best see the bird, but there was no room for me and my camera gear. So, i walked to the other side, put down my tripod, and the bird popped up! Second lifer of the year in the bag! Easy huh? Spent the rest of the afternoon trying, very unsuccessfully, to photograph it, didnt even press the shutter! What a beaut, but a real pain too. Lets hope it stays around for a while.