Plock Court Penduline Tit

With a very gloomy forecast for the coming days I opted to head down the M5 to hopefully catch up with the first winter male Penduline Tit frequenting Plock Court, Longford, Gloucestershire.

Quickly booted up I took the short walk across the wetland to two small pools with plenty of bullrushes. There were about half a dozen birders, a single Stonechat but no Penduline Tit. I caught up with a couple of birders I knew before working my way down the perimter scrub line that I'd seen in reports it favoured. 

Finally there was a flicker of movement at the bottom of the reeds and thankfully the Penduline Tit revealed itself and showed really well for the duration of my visit. Feeding well on both pools. What was strange is how a Penduline Tit, that normally breeds in France, could find its way to a spot within a mile of the only previous record in the county. The bird was ringed with the number revealing it was ringing in the Channel Islands on 28th October. 

Despite a couple of reports on social media when the bird first arrived, everyone there was very well behaved and enjoying the masked bandit at a sensible distance.

Penduline Tit at Darts Farm, Topsham

A bad chest infection almost cancelled my Easter trip to Devon however dosed up with antibiotics we headed down the M5 hoping the Penduline Tits were still near Topsham.

Reports had been really mixed of their appearances so I was delighted that as soon as I reached the reed bed both birds showed very well. With only one photographer watching the bird I had a good 30-40 minutes watching the birds at very close quarters.

The Penduline Tits are actually from central Asia and are famed for their elaborate hanging nests. The birds have created a real stir locally and have brought many visitors to the fantastic Darts Farm. A superb bird friendly place selling local produce as well as great coffee and cake. 

All the the above images were digiscoped.