DESERT STORM

on Sunday the 8th of November i got a call about a rare bird at alcan of all places the weather was poor and a brief stare out of the window did not look promising so i opted to sit it out and wait

then the sun began to get out so i decided to give it a go.

I have not been to the beach up there before (sheltered life) as i was not sure there was access when i arrived i was pointed in the right direction by some local birders then i began the long trek

there were plenty birders about some going out and some returning and there were plenty of positive sightings and talk of it being a colourful male bird .

But the weather started to get worse and it began to rain not just ordinary rain but wind driven horizontal in your face type of rain so i decided to shelter until the worse was over and after about 10 minutes the sun managed to break through again.

Now it was time to get moving again so i followed the birders in front heading towards the mound at newbiggin half way along i was stopped by shouts of how eeeehh its theeere behinnd yu or something like that so i went into stealth mode did a quick 180 degree turn and dropped to the floor and there he was just 12 feet away sitting on a rock a stunning male desert wheatear

a lifer for me this would turn out to be the best view of a clearly unsettled and flighty bird which was hard to photograph so no pics folks.