So today has been one of those “in other parts of Devon” days. Firstly this morning I travelled just a mile or so to the little village of Ide pronounced “eede”. There was a very specific report yesterday of a Hawfinch being seen again This is Britain’s largest, and probably rarest finch and it/they had been seen on the edge of the village. I would certainly never classify myself as a “twitcher” that is a person who just collects sightings to complete a list, but I have never seen a Hawfinch before and, well ……. I was excited at the thought of seeing one, so off I went. Well, at first there was absolutely no sign of any Hawfinch, a bit like looking for the proverbial needle, but it was pleasant and the forecasted rain hadn’t arrived ……(dam you Met Office) …. They are situated in Exeter but so rarely get the forecast correct. I hope they get wet and cold when they get it wrong which they almost always do!!! After a short time a very pleasant man stopped to ask if there was any sight of it and said that he thought I was probably in the wrong place. So I bowed to his better knowledge and followed to West End Farm, well lets get on to the point. As usual he was the kind of Bird Watcher who could see a bird at half a mile and tell you what it had for dinner, glad I met him because we found it after a little bit of patience. It wqs in fact amongst a flock of Greenfinch and I got a great look at it when it flew down to an area where there was a few seeding Sycamore trees. My guess was that was it’s food source and attraction to the area. Hawfinch are “sight specific” so I am sure that further visits to the same clump of trees will reward me with much better sightings and perhaps a photo opportunity. So thanks to you if you are reading this I would not have seen it without your help.

So now on to the Penduline Tit, a very rare bird for Devon and the UK. This bird had been seen on ponds at Goodrington near to the South Devon town of Paignton and again I thought that it was too good a bird to miss. So again denying any accusation of being a “twitcher” I got in to the car and made the 18 mile journey. As soon as I arrived I felt slightly embarrassed when confronted by the local “Bif” who asked if I was a birdwatcher, I told him no, I always walk past the local playing fields with my camera on a tripod. He was even more “damaged” than I though and believed me. I followed a trail of well equipped middle age men who’s centre of attention was the middle lake and more specifically a reed bed in front 30 yards or so. Swinging dangerously from stem to stem was one of the most delightful little birds I have seen. The light was poor, the distance was too great and the movement of the bird conspired against me and all the other people who haven’t got anything else better to do on a damp January Thursday.
It never ceases to amaze me how snooty and stuck-up some people are when I am in these ‘group situations” and to be honest it detracts from any real pleasure.
I was stood next to a couple of younger blokes who obviously thought they were very knowledgeable and far too intelligent and informed to even point out the bird to me. They were chatting about how clever they were actually and treated my presence with the disdain that they they thought I deserved. Stil that’s life.
I tell the tale though just to illustrate though how totally different my encounters were today. This morning I met a smashing very knowledgeable bloke who’s help was invaluable and this afternoon several rude, ignorant snobs.
Oh and eventually it rained so I do hope they got wet!