Tit Obsession

It was actually, coincidentally, this day last year at Minsmere that I caught my very first very fleeting glimpse of a Bearded Tit after millions of years birdwatching, unfortunately it was so fleeting Mrs L missed it.

Since then we've been to various Bearded Tit "hotspots": back to Minsmere, no luck, been down to the reed beds by the Tay on a couple of occasions, no luck, visited the reeds at Bishops Stortford a couple of times, no luck, not to mention the number of times we've been looking over the reeds at Rye Meads and Amwell, all no luck.

So today we headed back to Minsmere with the hope of seeing Beardies. The day started well, with good views of Mediterranean Gulls followed by bacon butties. We then headed out to scan the reed beds. Success!! Over a half hour period I got perhaps five brief views of them flying across the tops of the reeds and once was able to get the camera on a distant juvenile and got some passable shots. Unfortunately though during all this time Mrs L didn't see any! - None! Zip! Nada! I was happy to remain there longer, but she felt it was time to move on. So no Beardies for Mrs L.

Continuing on, the highlights of the day were (all seen by Mrs L & myself!) Avocet, Black-tailed godwit, Sandwich Tern, Spoonbill, Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Cetti's Warbler, Green Woodpecker and of course Fiona the Greater Flamingo an escapee from Marwell Zoo, who's now made herself at home on the East Scrape.

After another visit to the coffee shop we decided to try again for Mrs L's Beardie tick. After only five minutes the beautifully plumaged male pictured above decided to take pity on us. No fleeting glimpses this time as he flew to the front of the reeds just by us and treated us to a few poses before flying on. Magic! Well Chuffed!

Now does anyone know where I can find myself a nice pair of crested tits?

A trip over to RCB will of course reveal another Bearded Tit photo.