Well, today I did something I've never done before.
I "dipped" on a bird.
I've never before gone anywhere to look for a rare bird, I've never done anything "twitchy". But the opportunity of just taking a walk along the river to find the glossy ibis that has been hanging out behind the sugar factory was something I just had to do.
I have to say, the bird has picked a good spot. It's in a rather godforsaken part of town, in muddy fields beyond the Nether Lock and the weir. It wasn't a pretty walk by any stretch of the imagination, and the experience was not enhanced by various rusted shopping trolleys and bikes that had been dragged from the river and dumped.
I wasn't quite sure where to go, but there was another birder down there who helped me find my way there, and she joined me as I crossed a drainage ditch on a makeshift bridge and wandered around an empty field full of discarded sugar beet.
The ibis had apparently been hanging around by a temporary pond in the middle of this field, but there was no sign of it. This means, in birdwatching terminology, that I had dipped on the bird.
I may try again if the bird hangs around. And probably "dip" again.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.03.21
