A day in the life of a mad birder!!

[John]

Well, what a day.

On saturday a very rare bird had been reported late in the day at Bredon Hill in Worcestershire. I had never been birding there before but the lure of seeing my very first Pied Wheatear was far to great so an early start was planned.

I got up at 04:15 and by 05:15 was out of the house and on my way, arriving at the Elmley Castle end of Bredon Hill whilst it was still dark. Thankfully another car had arrived just before me as I hadn't a clue where to walk but the other driver knew exactly where to go.

It had been raining hard on the journey over but had stopped in the last few miles.

There were three off us starting out on the walk. It was still dark and the muddy pathway up was treacherous to say the least as you couldn't see where you were putting your feet. Onwards and upwards we progressed and the lungs really took a bashing but finally we emerged victorious at the top - to a howler of a gale. That soon re-filled the lungs as we battled hard against the wind. Finally we reached the Banbury Stone which afforded us shelter against the wind. We had been beaten by one other birder and in the few minutes of light he hadn't seen any movements from anything.

About ten minutes later we were joined by another three birders then in the Distance Steve Whitehouse (local bird recorder) could be seen trudging up the hill from the Worcester direction.

All of a sudden all hell broke loose as the wind became a real force then the rain arrived in real stair rod fashion, finally followed by extremely black low cloud which engulfed us. It was becoming a nightmare scenario as you couldn't venture away from the Banbury Stone for fear of being both blown over and sand blasted by the driving rain.

This continued for over an hour then started to clear slightly. By this time the number of birders had risen to about 20 and we all started to disperse to try and find the bird. 15 minutes later the gales, rain and cloud hit us again and it became a real battle to get back to the Banbury Stone and shelter. This extreme weather was really taking your breath away. Certainly not condusive to any type of birding. The only things seemingly enjoying themselves were the few Crows that were wheeling around the blackened skies.

I had actually arrived at 7am and now it was nearly 10am. A decision was being made by most of the birders to go home, me included, but the conditions were a nightmare to those that didn't know their way around the Bredon Hill, such as me.

The two people I had followed up had long gone and none of the other birders had come from my direction so it was left to me to try and re-trace my steps, steps that had been taken earlier in the dark. Added to that the weather was far different with driving rain and low cloud making visibility quite dodgy.

I managed to take the wrong track and found myself walking into a farm. I knocked the door but no one was in. I re-traced my steps and took another likely looking track and somehow managed to get onto the track we had used earlier. After about an hour and bit walking I could finally see my car. You can imagine the sheer relief at seeing that lovely sight.

I have managed a few photos from this morning so you can join in the fun of Midland birding at its best. lol

Aren't you glad you didn't go?? lol

[nightshade]

Often wondered, do you use GPS either in the car or as a personal mobile?
I would have thought it was almost a necessity in your chosen pursuit

[John]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Often wondered, do you use GPS either in the car or as a personal mobile?
I would have thought it was almost a necessity in your chosen pursuit

I honestly don't need them as I know the majority of Britain well, plus I have an excellent sense of direction which came in handy today.

Even abroad I can find my way around the countryside without any trouble. It is the one talent I have that I wouldn't swap.

[Tinkerbell]

'Aren't you glad you didn't go'?

Yes, but your story is probably more factual, cheaper and entertaining than buying and reading a Sunday paper!

[Diane]

I'm so glad I don't twitch!! Sounds horrendous, John. Glad you made it home safely.

[John]

Originally Posted by Diane

I'm so glad I don't twitch!! Sounds horrendous, John. Glad you made it home safely.

Thankfully virtually every twitch is in better conditions than those experienced today.

BTW those photos may look as though they are first thing in the morning, whilst it is still relatively dark, but the first one was at 08:10 and the other 5 were about 09:10am. That will give you an indication on just how bad it became. In fact a bit later on it had deteriorated even worse than shown in the photos but by then it was far too bad to even try for a photo.