It was a bright, bitterly cold morning as we met in Shaw and headed easterly along the M62. Our plan was to visit the area around the Rivers Trent, Ouse and Humber and see what migrants had arrived etc. At Faxfleet we managed to watch a few Marsh Harriers whilst Cettiss Warblers seemed to be everywhere, I managed to watch a Sedge Warbler land then disappear into the reed beds. A few Bearded Tits flew by and stayed hidden in the reeds due to the cold winds blowing. We met a couple of birders who told us that they had seen 6 Arctic Terns fly along the rivers heading east. We next headed for Blacktoft Sands, at least we could get a little shelter from the cold! In the visitor centre they had a nice warm stove alight and a good bird in full view in front, it was a Common Snipe! A new year bird for most of us, lots of Marsh Harriers all around the reserve, then some hirundines appeared, Sand Martins in the main but, mixed in with them were a couple of House Martins and Swallows. Grumpy old man time, why do people visiting bird watching hides insist on having their lunch in them whilst talking crap and always stuffing the noisiest foods like crisps down their throats?
We headed towards Fairburn Ings and all enjoyed the walk down to the bottom of Village Bay hoping to find a Willow Warbler, other birders told us that only one had been heard up to now, think we might be a couple of days early yet. At the Lin Dyke end of the reserve the Spoonbills could be seen gathering building materials for their nest in the Moat area. Hope they breed again. Bob K then picked up a couple of Common Terns flying around, always great to see. Our final plan was to call at Old Astley Lane near Swillington to try to catch up with a Ring Ouzel that had been seen in a cattle field that morning. What followed was a little bit strange to say the least, we had looked at a field that had cattle in it, at a place where you can see the whole Swillington area and began searching for the Ring Ouzel. After 10 minutes or so we had no luck and began thinking about heading off home. About four Barn Swallows appeared above our heads and Steve B suddenly said, Thats a Red Rumped Swallow Only Kev C and Steve B saw it before myself and Bob K could get onto it. An animated Steve was really happy with his find and it was a lifer for Kev C. Ten minutes later the Swallows came back and we all managed decent sightings of the bird. Eager to tell the waiting world, messages were put out and it was 20 minutes before any other birders turned up. Then the bird was found feeding over the reservoir pond and a group of 20 + birders seemed to be enjoying it, then, the bombshell hit with the words, Its an aberrant Swallow it was good while it lasted. As we headed up to the correct field to again search for the Ring Ouzel, a few birders thanked us for alerting everyone. We missed the Ouzel again and headed for home having all suffered the highs and the lows of birding.
