RFB

When we were lads wandering around Spurn the conversation would often turn to 'the bird you most want to find at Spurn' and Red-Flanked Bluetail was always high on everyone's list, an unimaginative choice, perhaps, but correct all the same.  These days they are common as muck and not even worth looking at.  If I were told a Bluetail was 'just over there', I wouldn't even bother looking at it! I'd walk straight past.  They're that rubbish now that today there were TWO Bluetails at Spurn!  See?  Common as shite, fuck 'em.  Fuck Red-Flanked Bluetits whatever they're called!
Only joking.
Yes, Red-Flanked Bluetails may have lost their mystical, mega rarity tag due to both a westerly range expansion and increased population, but they're still top notch birds, yes?

So today, yes TWO Bluetails were found (the second not being confirmed until the next morning) the first time a site has ever held two in the same day they reckon. One had been trapped in the Crown and released in Little Hedge which is an area inaccessible to the public and only viewable form the canal, canal scrape hide or the road. 
So why the flying fuck was it released here?!
I'll tell you why. At the weigh-in, the bird was found to be light, so it was decided to release it in a place of solitude where it would have chance to feed in peace without being booted all over the place by birders wanting a look. 
Fuck that!
We shouldn't interfere with nature.  It CHOSE the churchyard as it's CHOSEN haunt and that's where it should've been released (we'd have got much better views).  It's like big Dave Attenborough getting his cronies to stop a lion killing a cute baby Zebra.
Exactly the same.
The Bluetail has overcome diversity to get to that car park, with several factors contriving to dump this little beauty on our shores, and it's chosen area to be unceremoniously dumped were the trees in the Crown car park.  A vagrant is exactly that, a vagrant.  It is just unlucky that it is way off course and may never actually get back on course so I say let it take it's chances!  Fuck it.
I asked Ivan Drago out of Rocky IV what he thought about it.  "If it dies, it dies" he said. 
At least we'd get better views before it did croak it!  Hahahahahahahahaha only joking.  It was a wise and educated decision to release it in Little Hedge and everyone saw it ( I think).

After half an hour, it popped out. Briefly.
Then it popped out again.  Briefly.
Then the lads in the hide had it bathing on the scrape. 
Then I had it fly into the phrags at the side of the scrape after which I never saw it again.  This one never showed the next day but the one down the point showed on and off for the next two days (amazingly this bird was found again in the trap some 7 days after last being seen!  Elusive?  Fucking right the fucker's elusive).

A Radde's Warbler had been trapped at the Crown also. I went for a quick look for it but couldn't find it.  A Jack Snipe and a couple of Brambling were about the best of the rest.

"I will crush you, Tom Selleck, whatever you are called" Ivan also commented.

Was it really Tom Selleck who played Rocky?  I didn't seem to think it was.

Not that I'm gonna argue with Ivan who incidentally, is Tony Drago's twin brother.

The snooker player.

Honest.

............