Stupid Boy!

Yesterday was a dry run for today as I took my new toy the Sigma 150-500mm lens out for a true field test. So last night got everything ready for an early start, put the battery on charge, cameras & lenses in the car, looked out our WWT membership cards and checked the whereabouts of a couple of birds we wanted to see en-route to the WWT reserve at Welney.

First stop was to see a Cattle Egret a bird largely confined to Southern Spain, Portugal and the extreme South of France and a rare vagrant further north. When we arrived it was raining, but we could see the bird. We waited five minutes for the rain to stop but as the sun came out we had lost the bird, eventually though it flew back and was good enough to sit on a fence post and give as good views.

Second stop was to see a Glossy Ibis, rare in Southern Europe, more in the Balkans and Middle East. Meeting other birders we heard that it had been seen at 10:30, but had flown off to the north. We searched for half an hour, but the draw of a warm drink at the nearby Welney WWT reserve was too much of a temptation.

At the Welney WWT we had some excellent birdwatching, primarily known for its large number of Whooper and Bewick's swans and even larger numbers of assorted duck. All were present and easily viewable from a range of comfortable hides. We were also treated to a flypast by three Common Cranes that were also good enough to drop in for a while.

On the way back home we stopped off for a further look for the Glossy Ibis, it still hadn't been seen since 10:30 and it hadn't shown itself by the time we got back on the road for home.

Today's photo is of the Cattle Egret on its fencepost having a chat to one of its cattle mates encouraging it to move around and disturb the insects that it feeds upon.

But why Stupid Boy! well actually that's an understatement it really should be Stupid, Stupid Boy!. You've had one clue above and there's a further one below.