25th September 2013 and the day had only just begun when I got a knock on the bedroom door, there's an Olive-backed Pipit in the ringing room. Got down there sharpish but I never got to see the bird as all hell broke lose in the corridor "There's a WHITE'S THRUSH by the generator". Well had to run back in and get the boots on and leg it up the road.
Once birders had gathered it was flushed from Bracken and flew up the hill where everyone had excellent views though I stayed on with the bird when everyone else went back form breakfast.
As the bird had clearly just arrived during a squall it was looking for shelter and it eventually made its way into a Rabbit burrow at the top of the hill which I staked out for the next four hours waiting for it to emerge. Occasionally it would stick its head out and look at me.
I just didnt know what the bird would do when it came out, would it bolt it and I would have wastted those hours or would it linger. Fantastically it did the latter and when it did eventualaly appear it sat right out in the open a few metres from where I was hunkered down.
The shots were well worth the effort and I went on to see it a number more times in the area before it eventualy disappeared into Furse.
Whilst it's not a Big Ticket Item bird in terms of mega rarity status it is still high on every birders wish list and this is was a stunner.
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