Feeding my twitching habits

It's that time of year again, Spring migration is kicking off and me and many others are stuck inside, watching countless reports of birds come in on the phone. Never the less, I have managed to loosen the chains slightly and on Saturday I was able to catch a lift with Ian Bennell to see the long staying Greater Yellowlegs in Hampshire. On arriving the bird was still showing which made for an easy tick, and enjoyable observation. Whilst looking at it I compared it to it's smaller cousin, the larger, more muscular body gave the bird away instantly and it seem to largely resembled a Greenshank, with it's upturned bill and strong streaking.

Greater Yellowlegs

Following my second to last exam, my mother offered to drive me to a local twitch, if I put in a good amount of effort into my exams. I was absolutely thrilled when a Red-necked Phalarope arrived on Broom GPs, a bird I had hoped to see since I first opened a field guide. The reserve had a surprisingly good environment, with habitat for many interesting migrant. Which has been seen in its recent history, starting with a White-winged Black Tern and Temminck's Stint (which is incredibly good, for an inland patch). The Red-necked Phalarope although distant, showed nicely only being disturbed by a resident Redshank, which appeared to be a racist :).

Gypsy Lane, East Pit

Red-necked Phalarope