A couple of years ago, Glossy Ibis was becoming almost routine: singles, pairs - even flocks - were annual visitors to Norfolk, often staying on for months at a time. This year, however, they have become a little thin on the ground again, so, when the pager announced one had been seen near Martham Ferry I decided to dodge the rain and have a look for it.
Sometimes in birding everything just goes right: today was one of those occasions! I delayed leaving home until 1.40 when the rain had finally stopped, arriving at Martham Ferry around twenty minutes later. After a false start, I reached the stretch of riverbank from which a yellow digger could be seen. Just as I arrived, however, a team of workers began readying it for a move: the Ibis was not in sight. I decided to ignore the threatening clouds and walk upstream towards Martham Broad. In the distance I could see a large flooded area that looked ideal: a scan with binoculars revealed the Ibis distantly on the far edge of the flood. The sound of the digger starting up startled the Ibis which flew straight towards me. It settled briefly, before heading westwards over the trees: as I reached the car to return home, the heavens opened!
Linda could not believe it when, bone dry, I walked in from the garage just an hour and a half after I'd left!
No comments:
Post a Comment