I've had a nightmare start to the Autumn birding season. Every bird I seem to have gone for has disappeared by the time I got there - greater sand plover, marsh sandpiper, semi-palmated plover, Kentish plover. I was starting to think I might have to take up another hobby - knitting perhaps or collecting old jam jars. It got even worse yesterday when a spotted crake turned up at Dorney Common, only 30 minutes away from us. I immediately headed off with Judith but the bird failed to show again for the 90 minutes we stood staring at a muddy pool A nice water rail vaguely got us excited and a few snipe pottered about but nothing of the main target. Despondently we headed off home for tea and cake only to be met as we got home with an alert saying it had reappeared. Then another two alerts followed during the evening. I had another chance though, so this morning I dropped Judith off at the station and headed back. This time I had on my lucking twitching shirt. I did a lot of my early twitches wearing it but now, as it's getting a bit thin, I only bring it out for special occasions.
The pool is a short walk from the road and as I walked across I could see 4 other people already pointing their scopes at it. On questioning them though it was bad news - no show and it was now getting towards 8.30. There were up to 7 snipe, a green sandpiper and a number of ducks pottering about but no sign of the crake. They are notoriously skulky birds though it was not impossible it was still hiding. Finally, as another couple of birders arrived it gave itself up, popping out from rushes on the side of the pool then darting back in again.
It then disappeared for around 20 or 30 minutes as the crowd of twitchers grew to around a dozen. It got quite friendly as the viewing area was quite small so we all had to huddle together a bit! Much to our pleasure though it did potter back out again and started feeding on the mud.
As it got braver it finally went out into the deeper water with the assorted teal, snipe and moorhen. It was a busy bird, darting left and right as it picked food off the surface.
Finally it got bored and flew off across the pool to the far side where did its disappearing act again for over an hour. We were kept amused though by the appearance of a fox, which gave the assorted wildfowl a bit of a scare as well!
The throng was now over 30 strong with birding royalty including Lee Evans. A very popular bird, especially, from what I could gleam, for the Berkshire listers. Around 11 it did appear again, still distant on the right hand side of the pool.
Its behaviour was still very skulky, dipping in and out of the reeds as it fed. I called it a day and headed off. Hopefully I'm now out of the birding doldrums with Autumn really starting to kick off. Another trip planned for tomorrow to Frampton fo a stilt sandpiper and long-billed dowitcher. This time of year of course anything can drop in so fingers crossed.....
