Sunday 29 January 2017

Pine Bunting: Little Murston, Kent

Another birthday, and what better way to spend it than out birding, even more enjoyable if you can add a lifer to your list.
We headed for Little Murston in Kent, arriving at first light we parked up close to Little Murston Farm and headed off along the muddy track towards the sea wall. We joined the small group of birders already present along Saxon Shore Way. The Pine Bunting had already been seen but it was very elusive and mobile. We spent the next three hours scanning all the favoured areas without any sign. By this time the small group had grown to almost seventy birders. Then a shout went up, someone had the bird in sight! It was sitting out at the top of a tree on the far edge of the field. It stayed in that tree long enough to obtain good scope views.




With a lifer in the bag we made a fifty mile detour to Crawley, hoping the Rose-coloured Starling would be on show. First reported on the 27/11/16, it had remained almost exclusively faithful to gardens along Beachy Road, Broadfield.
Almost immediately after parking up in Beachy Road the Starling was spotted perched up in an apple tree in a back garden close by. It remained for a while and then dropped down to feed in the garden, soon to reappear in the same tree or in the fir tree behind. 






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