But before that here a few photos of other Mega rare birds seen over the last two years:
Crag Martin Chesterfield
So my recent trip to Barra for the American Redstart......
News broke on Thursday 7th September that an American Redstart had been found on Barra, a remote island about 100 miles from Oban. Interesting I thought and then spent the next two days convincing myself I didnt want to see it and it would probably move on. Then on Sunday morning with news the bird was still there the little itch I had became a rather big twitch and I decided to give it a go! After several hours of booking accomodation, ferries and supermarket trips for provisions (including a plug in kettle for the car) I had made all the necessary arrangements for the biggest twitch of my life! Problem was the earliest ferry I could make was Tuesday afternoon as there is only one a day from Oban.
The ferry crossing took 5 hrs and we docked at 6.20pm and made the mad dash up the island arriving at 6.45pm. The light however was bad but the bird was still there. One of the best birthday presents I have ever had. Luckily I was booked back on the 3.30pm ferry the next day so had another chance in the morning.
After a good nights sleep in a local B&B I arrived back at Eoligarry church at 7.30am to find myself all alone looking for the bird. At 8.30am I saw a flash of yellow and to my total delight found myself looking at the 6th record of this impressive American Warbler. Once the rain had stopped the bird showed very well and even started catching bees! What a trip and one of the best birthdays I have ever had!
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