With a good weather forecast for the first part of the day I decided to take Paul's advice again and go to Dart's Farm near Topsham in Devon to twitch the Penduline Tits that have been there for some time now.
- An early start meant I was on site for 09.50 and it wasn't long before I saw my first Penduline Tit near the top of the reeds to the left of the hide. It then flew even closer to be in the trees just a few metres away. It was soon joined in the tree by a second one. The views were excellent in the sunshine. This was the first sighting of this bird in the UK for me, having narrowly missed it near Bedford earlier in the year. It was, however, not a "lifer" as I had seen several on our recent trip to Belgium.
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| Penduline Tits at Darts Farm near Topsham, Devon Library picture |
- Next stop was Broadsands near Torquay to see 40+ Cirl Buntings feeding on the ground and in the surrounding bushes.
- On the way home I detoured to Portland in Dorset where I saw my first Blackcap of the year at the observatory, a lovely female and the resident Black Guillemot in the harbour.
A lot of driving but well worth the effort. Another valuable addition to my UK Life List - only 12 needed to reach the magical 300!
Additions to BUBO UK Birds Life List:
Penduline Tit (288)
Additions to BUBO 2015 UK Bird List:
Penduline Tit (268)
Cirl Bunting (269)
Blackcap (270)
Black Guillemot (271)
The penduline tit ( Remiz pendulinus) is irregularly distributed in river scrub and marshes across Eurasia. An 11-cm- (4.5-inch-) long brownish bird with a black mask on its whitish head, it is named for its two-chambered nest (built by the male), which consists of a finely felted bag of plant down or wool, suspended from the tip of a branch (sometimes in reeds).
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