Blyth’s Pipit becomes Blagdon Lake's treat from the east

 Blyth’s Pipit

 Blyth’s Pipit

 Blyth’s Pipit

 Looking east towards the dam

Stunning landscape

 Senior & Junior Buford join the locals

Not a bad place to spend a morning

With a number of lieu hours owing from earlier in the year I opted to take Tuesday off to wrap up a few Christmas jobs at home and spend a few hours in the orchards at Salford priors trying to find our own rare Thrush.

After waking up at my normal time and checking the previous evening Twitter feed it seemed a Blyth’s Pipit had been discovered at Blagdon Lake, Somerset. I had never seen one but I didn’t fancy hanging around a long grassed field hoping for a three second  look of a very shy bird. The locals reported the bird was  actually “showy” and been present for six days but it was only the previous day the ID had been confirmed. When positive news was published & with access news I thought I’d go for it.

The journey took just under two hours and given there were parked cars outside the gate I parked there as I expected it to be at capacity inside being a county first for Somerset. That was definitely a mistake as most of birders present drove inside and then round the lake to the viewing spot. On the positive note I met up with Karle Burford & his very polite son and we walked round the edge of the lake taking us about 20 minutes.

The team from Bristol water & local birders were very welcoming to everyone. These twitches can be difficult when on private land, so a huge thanks.

This was probably one of the easiest twitches of the year as soon as we reached the birders the Blyth’s Pipit was in the company of a Meadow Pipit on the shoreline. This first winter bird was quite distinctive but certainly showing signs of a long journey. The bird was very upright at times like a Richards Pipit but smaller yet ran & scampered like a Wheatear.

Quite what the Pipit made of the damp lakeside habitat & being watched by 40-50 birders we will never know however it must be far away from it's natural habitat in Mongolia for winter. 

Whilst not the most attractive bird it is certainly one I valved seeing as since I've been birding seriously there has only been one reported in Yorkshire which was really seen well in flight. Happy days........