Penduline Tit - photo from the Polish Birders Forum.Photographer not known
After 2 minutes sleep for the previous night, I got up at 4.30am and began my perilous journey to the Fish Ponds (40km outside Krakow). Eventually got to the site at 7.30am after a few hiccups. I spent a mega 10 hours birding and walking - and boy am I feeling it now!The highlights were 5 Bitterns plus 3 booming, a Blue-headed Wagtail that nearly landed on my head and my first Swift of the year. The top prize however, goes to the pair of Penduline Tits that I watched weaving their nest in full view. When I came across them I sat myself on the dirt road and just enjoyed. Whilst watching them, I noticed a large raptor sitting in the same tree - literally feet away from the tits with it's back to the action. It turned its head and suddenly noticed me sitting on the floor, staring at it through my bins. As I realised that it was a female Goshawk, she nearly jumped out of her skin and promptly flew off!
How often do you get to sneak up on a Goshawk?
Unfortunately, I dipped on the Savi's Warbler despite my best efforts. It just would not even give me a hint of it from deep within the sedgebed it was singing from. I've only ever been near a Savi's Warbler once before and that was in 1986 in Norfolk. I never saw that one either!
2 comments:
I'm of the view that hearing is as good as seeing, equlaity for the senses tick that Savi's!
Marathon visit, and worth every minute by the sound of it.
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