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Birdfair

I won't grip folk off too much regarding my morning with Mr. King; suffice to say he is a thoroughly decent bloke and the morning I spent in his company will not be forgotten. Whilst grilling an odd looking goose in the hide, I had forgotten I was birding with 'Simon King' as such, I was just out enjoying the birds with good company. Birds from the hide included An Osprey, called by the man himself, Green Sandpiper, Ruff, Lapwing and Little Egret. An odd call from the woods was believed to be a juvenile Tree Sparrow (I need to get an iphone!), although I did not see any from the usual hide.
Spent most of the fair itself moving between the optics marquee, lectures and catching up with friends. A trip to Eastern Europe is now on the cards for next spring, so a number of very helpful tour guides were approached and I purchased Gerard Gorman's excellent guide to birding in Eastern Europe.
We went down to see the Ospreys, which were great, but in truth the experience was forgettable. "Have you seen any Ospreys?" we were asked, on numerous occassions. Try looking I thought.
Eyebrook reservoir was more our scene, and Debs picked out the Black Necked Grebe, although distantly. On nipping round the other side of the water, the bird had disappeared, which was to be the pattern for much of Sunday morning. Still managed to find a few dickheads, who were scoping the water from the middle of the road on a tight bend.
Not long til the new term now, hoping for a couple of patch visits this week. An Osprey has been at Strumpshaw for 2 days, just over the river from Surlingham.

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