Always be prepared to have your mind blown

As a 'patch birder' I can say I have found some pretty amazing birds over the years, some of the best from 2000, I'll dwell on those another time.

I have fallen to the wayside on keeping my blog updated, I think it was trying to juggle a YouTube channel and not having a clear picture of whether I wanted to do videos or shorts, the latter seemed to bring more views. But I've done neither for many months, mostly as my digi adapter broke and I am about to have it fixed.

Anyway I digress, the reason for the out of the blue post, is because while out this morning, another rarity event occurred - this time in the form of a Marsh Tit. 

Many in other parts of the country are blessed with Marsh Tits, we on the other hand are not ad as far as I am concerned there has been few if any reliable reports since 1984. I chased one back then and instead saw Willow Tit, which has become even rare in our County and likely to go extinct very soon.

Most mornings, I arrive near 05:30 and my 'routine' is to check the exposed mud on Sandford, hoping for a wader - in this case I was nearly an hour late and did of course check for Black-tailed Godwit - no sign and it's fair to say my hopes are dwindling now as the Islandica form have mostly gone through by now. It was here I felt compelled to change my routine, instead of turning back to do my usual route, I decided I'd check the other mud spit at the South end just 100m away, I approached very slowly to avoid flushing what might be there.

I paused and peered around the Balsam - 1 Green & 1 Common Sandpiper, I could hear a tit flock right by me and a Treecreeper began calling and suddenly a bird dropped onto the path 8 feet away, with naked eyes I could see it was brown and grey and didn't even need my bins for my brain to shout "is that a Marsh Tit, it can't be, they're extinct around here". Lifting my bins I was in no doubt in one second, it flicked up just a couple of feet and I stayed on it, with my mind blown.

I put out the news on our WhatsApp group - nobody responded.

It flitted around with 10 to 20 feet for 6-7 minutes and I called my good friend Trevor, he is accustomed to my early calls and knows that if I call early it's usually something good and he was as blown away as me.

My reckoning is that as hard as it might be to find again, it almost certainly will stick with this flock, at least for a day or so.

It was April 19th 1984 I hoped to see Marsh Tit, but got Willow Tit, as the years have gone by, I have resigned myself to believing I'll never see one on my beloved patch - Moral of the story "Always be prepared to have your mind blown"