If in doubt....

....and you can't get out, post a pic or two!

Common Yellwowthroat Zac Hinchcliffe 

Starting with the Common Yellowthroat still showing a few miles west of Newport, Gwent, in Wales to the delight of Zac and fellow 'twitchers' whose motivation for such enthusiasm I clearly understand but have never been bitten by the bug as my passion for birds leads me down many other roads. Please take a look at Zacs blog where you can see his enthusiasm for the scarce/rare/mega birds along with the more common ones with which he is equally enthusiastic about the ringing aspects of birding.

 Siberian Rubythroat. Copy Permitted.

Well you wont have many chances in a lifetime to see one of these little gems, so....if an opportunity ever arises I'd jump sky high at it if I was you. A couple of points of interest are that the first record for Siberian Rubythroat in Britain wasn't until barely over 40 years ago in October 1971, Fair Isle, Shetland, the bird winters India to Southeast Asia and Philippines. 

 Hornemanns Arctic Redpoll. Copy Permitted.

And here's another you maybe won't get many chances to see either.The first British record of Arctic Redpoll C.h. hornemanni is of a bird shot at Whitburn, Tyne and Wear in 1855. Its pretty sad that thousands of so called 'humans' who still shoot birds in the 21st century, don't give the impression that they'll ever become at least a little more civilised and take up some other less violent and destructive pastime. But there you go....I digress.

   Marmora's Warbler. Copy Permitted.

Bringing up the rear of four little gems is the Marmora's Warbler, and yes, yet another of those you probably won't ever see in your lifetime. The first record of this species was collected a little nearer to home only 30 years ago in 1982 at Langsett on the Pennines in Yorkshire where it stayed for seven weeks. It was found in the month of May when it was in full song, rising into the air in display not unlike a Whitethroat, the bird was also actually observed carrying nesting material. This record was claimed to have been over 2,000km north of its previously known range.

Birds fascinate me in a thousand ways.