Dusky Thrush (1cy female), Beeley, 10 December 2016
A RETURN TO THE DUSKY THRUSH at the lovely little village of Beeley in Derbyshire saw me and Mark Varley arrive before dawn and take the free shuttle provided by Duke's Barn to the village from the Chatsworth Estate car park. The viewing space behind the barn was already full before dawn but we had plenty of time, around seven hours in fact. Much of this was spent not looking at the Dusky Thrush of course, in the hope that it would fly in to the little orchard, which it did twice, affording some nice views albeit not very photogenic. A few new poses in less harsh light than Monday but again heavy crops, poor backgrounds and a little 'thrushtrating' as Pete called it. We saw lots of other birds during our big stand, like Goosander (a pair flew down the valley), sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, nuthatch and treecreeper and lots of thrushes milling around. I've never seen a twitch that has been so thoroughly embraced by the locals. There was a food van, park and ride service, toilets, tea and coffee and butties etc. Amazing stuff! Thanks again to everyone involved, lovely people! Thanks also to Mark for doing the driving and the 70s punk/new wave soundtrack, some happy memories of today!
Dusky Thrush, Beeley, 10 December 2016