For those of you who follow my ramblings I promised I'd give brief anecdotes of my favourite twitches listed in the RUSH BIRDS section of this Blog...So here goes:-
1. COMMON NIGHTHAWK - Scilly (Bryher) 24/10/1999
I'd paid a few visits starting in 1991 (Sora Rail). I'm tied to the half-term holiday, but at least I get one in October so I'm not complaining. I hadn't been every year due to having a young family but I'd managed to see some crackers nonetheless. Had been there a few days and was trying to keep costs down by not spending every night in the pub (it wasn't easy!). So I was blissfully ignorant of the news of the day.
Came down for breakfast chatting to the owners when a friend of theirs casually mentioned that there had been a report of the above flying around the pub on Bryher the previous evening (pre-pager days for me). Scramble!!!
Next thing I was down on the quayside with a boatload heading to Bryher.
We spent the whole day combing the island with no luck. About 5pm most people had decided to stake out the area it was seen in last night (made sense). Time marched on and the sun was setting...then over a CB came the unforgettable cry of "I'VE GOT IT". The bird still wasn't in view to most but eventually was located and seen by all flying around our heads with birders cheering, shaking hands and even hugging each other? A magic moment indeed. News was obviously put out and we had the bizzare scene of another boatload searing across from St Mary's in virtual darkness! After much deliberation this goes down as my ultimate RUSH BIRD.
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