Old Bustard was once tabled as a possible moniker for my alter ego but after consultation with my wife, who definitely didn't want be to be married to an Old Bustard (may be too late there Dear), the first choice of Old Caley, because of its links to the wonderful Capercaillie, was rightfully and thankfully chosen. Mind you I've never heard people mutter behind my back, 'there's that miserable Old Caley'!
A Great Bustard had been located close to the village of Letcombe Regis near Wantage by one of South Oxon's finest birders a few days before. Luckily I was working just five miles away so during the week I'd have a chance to go and see it. Monday I was too busy and Tuesday had thick fog all day at my work site. So I assumed, wrongly as it turned out, that five miles away it would be foggy too. I was a right grumpy Old Bustard when I saw the photos, taken that afternoon, by some of my fellow Oxon birders in glorious sunshine. I was less busy on Wednesday so nipped out to see the bird on my lunchtime, except that it had somehow managed to disappear, and despite scouring the immediate area I couldn't find it (it had relocated to another field a mile away). The bird reappeared in the original field on the Thursday so, after an early end to my working day, I returned in the drizzling rain and finally secured my first Great Bustard seen in Oxfordshire, not that it can go onto any official lists since it has come from the reintroduction scheme on Salisbury Plain but, for my Old Caley year list it definitely counts as the 240th species seen in 2020. The Bustard was distant across the field and did very little while I stood chatting to a couple of newly acquainted local birders (well met Alan and Mark). I took a few photos to show Mrs Caley, who on seeing them forgot my name and called me by the alternative.
Luckily the Great Bustard was extremely settled in the Beet field so on a cheerfully sunny Saturday morning I took Mrs Caley with me for another look. As we walked the short way along the path, I couldn't see the Bustard at all and began to get a bit twitchy. I didn't see it because instead of it being at the far end of the field as I expected, it was strutting around just forty metres away! Despite being nearly three feet tall the Great Bustard, a juvenile male, could be surprisingly difficult to pick up against the similar colours of the field. Our friend, The Early Birder, was already there and we joined him, keeping the necessary distance, for a chat. Mark is an excellent photographer but initially showed incredible restraint with his camera, reasoning that the Bustard wasn't close enough to warrant taking any photos yet, as I instantly began fired off frame after frame. He did, however, soon joined in on capturing the action when the Bustard amazingly walked calmly up to just ten metres or so away.
I took almost four hundred photos of the Great Bustard in a little over an hour and a half. Usually at least three-quarters of my efforts would be consigned to the bin but on this occasion almost every frame was worth keeping, testament to just how well the bird had performed to its small audience. It's a shame that some people poured scorn on the Great Bustard owing to its credentials. At the end of the day, it's a beautiful and unusual creature, and was well worth seeing. I'd put it up there with the Hoopoe and Red-footed Falcon as one of the birds of the year that I've seen in Oxfordshire. The Great Bustard was also as close as I'd get to seeing (the superficially similar looking) Capercaillie in 2020.
There isn't too much to say about this "twitch" so, thankfully for once (I hear you say), I'll just let some of my photos do the talking.
I had taken, probably, my best set of images for a long time and despite my recent frustrations with Birdguides, submitted some to their galleries thinking that I might gain a Notable Photo (NP) award for a change. I received many favourable comments for the photos but once again got passed over by the Photo Of The Week (POTW) judge. That snub was compounded further when a photo of the Great Bustard by somebody else was chosen as a NP that week and then the pain was intensified when a superb photo by my friend Clive (who couldn't believe that my own photos got no accolade) was deservedly chosen as the POTW the following week. In true miserable Old Bustard fashion that's me and Birdguides finished. It's often said that you have to be 'in it to win it', but I'm wondering just exactly "what you have to be in" because I'm clearly not. Of course I may just be a big-headed Old Bustard and in reality my photos are just not Bustard good enough!
No comments:
Post a Comment