There was a flurry of twitchery interest raised last month when a drake Baikal Teal was snapped at Welney one afternoon. It was not relocated and served to raise speculation as to the likelihood of the bird of 2014 repeating a migration route through the Washes. As always with such large tracts of suitable habitat along the 20 miles of the Washes there were hopes it was hiding away somewhere and this proved to be the case. A brief sighting on Sunday afternoon prompted keen eyes to find the bird taking up a one day residency in front of Stockdales Hide. A very arresting and boldy marked bird but fast losing it's mythical status in british birding. All the accepted records still, to my mind, have the hints of the fencejumper, an unpopular viewpoint but still worth considering. None the less the chance to enjoy so striking a rarity close to home would be churlish to let pass. There were relatively few pilgrims parked up at the reserve and not a lot of interest from Cambridgeshire locals and when we did get to Stockdales we were able to get seats to enjoy a wonderful vista. Firstly the Baikal Teal, gaudy - a tad plastic looking but fully winged, unrung and pristine was keeping company with a small posse of Wigeon, a superb drake Garganey drifted out of the vegetation as the Baikal drifted in.
A Great White Egret and then another patrolled the shallows, venturing up to belly height while shifting their perpendicular necks from side to snakey side. Alert, the wildfowl settled as a 2CY male Hen Harrier drifted over the flood and out across the fenland to quarter the fields behind the hide. The Great White Egrets came together and suddenly took flight, one with a Pike in it's beak. Some less than agile bickering took place and both birds eventually lost their meal.
Avocets, Greenshank, Ruff and Black-tailed Godwit were in parts raucous and in others skulking and later we enjoyed watching the limosa and as ever I learnt plenty from Ben aboult moult in both the sub-species and likewise with Ruff. The light was sublime although the stench from a Pike carcass on our return was far from pleasant.
The weekend had been pretty poor weatherwise but cleared quickly on Sunday afternoon in time for us to get out onto a deserted Titchwell beach following a cold morning in Hunstanton. Some very handsome Med Gulls were the clear highlights
