Pacific Swift photo by Russell G.
I was unable to go yesterday so i waited on news this morning before deciding to head to Trimley Marshes and sure enough my pager bleeped into life at about 7.25am and the news was positive , i had a 2 hour journey before i was on site and then another approx 3 mile walk to the marshes which felt like 10 miles !!!!!!!!!!
I eventually arrived and joined the masses of birders and although through out the walk news on the pager kept confirming the bird was still present and this helped keep me motivated on my walk , i heard a single Nightingale plus 2 different Lesser Whitethroats and a single Blackcap on my trek , however the target bird had gone missing by the time i arrived , shock , horror and $+@& came to mind .
After about an hour after constant scanning of the quite distant Common Swifts i was beginning to feel quite despondent , and then a rumble from further down the line of birders confirmed someone was onto it , wow , great , joy all filled my heart however i could not locate it and then it was gone !!!!!!!!!!
Someone shoot me please , well that's how i felt at the time , i bumped into Nick and Russell and we were chatting when it was relocated again , this time i was determined not to miss it , i scanned the area where the bird was flying , nothing and then wait , my god I've got it , the Pacific Swift flew right into my line of vision , its white rump and slightly longer wings were very evident , i managed to get it in my scope and proceeded to watch it for quite some time , it flew low over the lagoons giving some great views before flying high towards the nearby cranes and then over the river before flying back again and then high up into the sky . I then walked back with Nick and Russell in very high spirits and the walk back did not seem so long . Just like to say thanks to Russell for the use of his photos.
Selection of the crowd photo by Russell .
