Oriental Pratincole - what a twitch..

Every year in Britain, at least one species of pratincole turns up and in most cases, I am unable to twitch them. The only pratincole species I have seen in Britain was the Black-winged Pratincole at Martin mere.. This was to change when news reached me from Jason stannage that a newly found Collard pratincole was infact a 'mega', that of an Oriental Pratincole! This had only occured in Britain 5 times according to Rare Bird Alert. This bird was showing extremely well at Frampton Marsh RSPB on the North-east coast near Boston. Soon after the birds ID was confirmed, several of my mates twitched the bird and saw it and every opportunity that became available I was busy..

This bird was one that I was going to twitch and so - on Tuesday 11th May I set off at 5:14am from the station at Bangor - my only day off during the week. A change at Crewe, Derby, Nottingham and I soon arrived at Boston at 11:09am. On arrival, the bird came on the pager and it was all go.. A short 5 minute taxi journey and I was steaming down the path towards the East hide at Frampton Marsh RSPB. 15 mintues later and the bird was in view and on my yearlist - what a stonker!!

I watched the bird for a good hour or so and in that time managed to snap 300 pictures of the bird in which only 18 were decent. Other birds seen included 500+ Dark-Bellied Brent Geese, 4 Little-ringed plover and 4 summer-plumaged Curlew sandpipers. I was later informed that I had walked past another yeartick - a drake Garganey in which I need to get soon..
I left Boston at 3:44pm and arrived back in Bangor at 10:22pm. A grand total of 12 hours and 33 minutes on trains..