A 31 year wait is over

Driving back from Asda with my wife and my phone chirps the LWT bird news tone, I ask Emi to read it..."Phalarope next to bund Tern scrape, Steve Day"..........."Phalarope, what now?" I say. "call him, call him for me now". He says on loudspeaker "Yes it's still showing but getting grief from Black-headed Gulls!"

We are going by the Good Companions pub and had turned left already and now a very quick right down Fosters Lane took us down to near Just Tiles and on toward DP. We followed the slowest idiot in Berkshire down Sandford Lane and finally I pull up by the constantly locked Lavell's car park gate.

I then sprint to Bittern hide, bursting in Steve says "it's still here"

Quickly looking through his bins my eyes fall upon the somewhat distant but nonetheless blatant Grey Phalarope beyond the far end of the bund, at which point my body is bathed in warmth, joy, relief and pain with my whole diaphragm heaving in and out as I try and speak amid the gasps to catch my breath.

It's been a long wait for me, I was away when the famous 1987 October Hurricane hit, the two unrepeated megas have haunted me since, October 16th : 2 Grey Phalarope on BSL for one hour
October 17th : 1 Sabine's Gull on BSL.

But now after 31 years and 16 days, I got to see Grey Phalarope, even if it was just for 15, possibly 20 seconds, I saw it. Sadly them darn Black-headed Gulls chased it off and I was sad when I saw it leave over the Emm Brook and vanish behind the Oak, but not emerge the other side.

Blimey we've been unlucky in the last 2 years along, the Billingbear bird 2017 and 3 at Theale this year and I know numerous have been seen over the last 31 years, just not at Dinton.

My 203rd species, 137th this year. Here's to Steve's picture of this little stunner