Well, it's been a pretty quiet year really, especially as this year I've been spending easily 90% of my birding time on Patch (as I'm trying to set a VP Year List record!!). But a phone call from my birding bud, The Big V, on Friday afternoon was to be the catalyst for quite an awesome day's birding.

Friday 22nd September: Somewhere in Bayston Hill, sometime in the pm…. My mobile rings! I see 'Big V' lit up on the screen… “Hey mate, fancy going for this Wryneck at Motorcycle Museum near Solihul?”… “F***in' yeah mate, lifer for me, I'll ring work now and book it off!!”.

Saturday 23rd Septenber: 05:00am, my bedroom…. Up and dressed, quick visit to lav, all parafanalia chucked into the car and off to meet the TSB hardcore!!

By 05:30am we were all in Big V's car and tootling off to Solihul. We arrived in good time and were the first to arrive. Initial first look round revealed nothing, although now several birders were gathered. Then, around 07:30ish, one guy was frantically waving us across!!…

And there hoping in the sheltered undergrowth was the Wryneck!! We got great close views, especially as the bird moved across to a much more open area. But with more & more people arriving it soon got fed up and vanished!! More than chuffed, we departed at 08:00hrs for home!!

Later that morning….. Another text from Big V & one that would drain the blood from my body… 'ISABELLINE WHEATEAR – Carmel Head, Anglesey!!'

WHAT??!!! That was it, a rushed and frantic shopping trip with the wife and daughter, and I was back home planning what to do!!

No-one from the TSB could go…. Okay then, solo twitch it is. Then my mate Andy rang me back saying if I hung on an hour he was in… Excellent.

Rob also got in touch, he would also come.

After initially leaving Rob behind and having to meet near Oswestry, slightly later than planned (15:00hrs!!), we were en route. Road works on the A55 caused a slight detour, and a few wrong turns, ment we arrived at Carmel Head around 17:30hrs. I slogged to the gathered birders and one guy (1st one I asked!!), pointed to the indented 'V' on the nearby stone wall and…. there it was, an excellent ISABELLINE WHEATEAR!!!

We stayed for an hour watching this smashing little bird, which for nearly the whole time, never failed to show brilliantly, even giving us glimpses of it's tail band and jet black alula!!

I eventually arrived home at 21:00hrs, tired, but over the moon with 2 lifers under my belt in just one day. Brilliant.

So, let me set the scene, as it were, it's 5:20am and I have a little over an hour of my current night shift to work! Having only had 3 hours sleep yesterday, fatigue is kicking in big time now and, where a normal, sensible person, would be thinking only of handing over to his relief before racing off home to bed, I'm currently more than aware that I've, very soon, got to drive round a couple of site's in Shropshire looking for a rather plain little brown wader on what is a pretty chilly morning, I can tell you.

Let me explain further, I arrived at work last night to recieve a call from my good mate Andy, who was informing me of a Pectoral Sandpiper which was found the day before on Mire Lake (an area owned by British Sugar, therefore strictly permit only…. w*****s!!). But he had managed to arrange viewing for this morning for a few hours. Brilliant, only it's a clear night and apparently the current choice of site isn't brilliant habitat. So, Andy then asks me…. Firstly – “Can you stick the news out“… Which I do, clearly stating where to park and to NOT try and enter the usual Beet Factory way (which I bet some d***head tries to do!!).

Secondly – “I bet it pushes off from here, not a good site really, can you check out VP in the morning?”…. To which I reply Yes! (I'll be running on sheer adreneline by then!)

Should the bird have relocated there, all well and good, I'll 'tick' it and then f*** off to bed and leave everyone else to search for it (selfish I know, but hey! How much sleep you had in the last 36 hours, eh?).

However, and running on VP's recent (well, pretty much all year), run of dire luck (no wader's much at all), it'll either stay at the lake (which means I'll have to drive up there & freeze my nads off for a further hour), or it'll have gone altogether and I shant be able to sleep because I'll be worried to death of it being relocated later in the day at another site (or worse still VP!!), and I'll have been well truly gripped off!!!

So, what will happen in the next few hours?… Will the Pec be 'on show' at Mire Lake? Will yours truly relocate it at VP? Will anyone actually give a s*** what I do? For answers to these questions and mroe you'll have to tune in later…. (or whenever I can be arsed to do my next write up!!)….

TO BE CONTINUED……

(P.S. – Just so you know, I've seen 2 Pec Sands in previous years in Shropshire, incl. a bird at VP…. Just dont like missing on the 'good ones' which turn up…. We dont get many decent birds…. *sob!!*…. )