A truly Great Snipe

No patch birding today; some twitchin' was had instead. I was doubtful whether yesterday's Great Snipe at Spurn would be found again this morning, but found it was, so I bombed over there, solo, as soon as I got up. The problem with Spurn is that it looks fairly close to Newark as the crow flies, but it's a long way round; even when you get to Hull it's still 40 minutes further on. However, with 1977 by Ash and Bagsy Me by the Wannadies on full blast (who knew Poundland sold refurbished CD's?), the time passed and Spurn was reached just after half 10.

When I arrived, the bird was showing on and off through a fence, under some bushes. Not so great. However, it then walked out onto a grassy verge within the caravan park on Beacon Lane. To say it then showed well is a massive understatement - it performed phenomenally, and despite my initial concerns, it was completely unperturbed by the twitchers and paps who had it covered on two sides. It fed, dozed, and wandered around, showing down to just a few feet at times. 

However, viewing wasn't always straightforward...

A really fantastic bird, and I'm glad I made the effort to go for it; bird of the year for me so far.