The discovery of a Dusky Thrush was announced on the pagers late evening on Friday 17th May in Margate Cemetery, Kent. A much wanted Siberian vagrant, so this was going to be a huge twitch. Another lifer within a week of the Collard Flycatcher – Wow whats happening – I never had a lifer last year and this year, two in a fortnight. We arrived on site at 10:30 having left home around 07:30am this morning. We walked straight onto the Dusky Thrush, probably a first summer female, which was showing reasonably well on and off and within the leaf canopy of a large Sycamore. Considering the amount of tree cover in the cemetery, it was remarkable how the bird was favouring just one particular tree amongst a group of three or four trees together. Very obliging really, for the two hundred or so birders on site, as if it had decided to move around, I dread to think of the consequences.. The bird simply sat around on view, albeit in the tree canapy, for an hour or more. never really moving very far but on occassions actively moving about within its favoured tree.Having had good views and managing some half decent record shots, we moved off to Reculver Country Park and had some excellent views of a ring-tailed Montagu's Harrier.. The Year List moves on to 178
Dusky Thrush – probably a first summer female – Margate Cemetery, Kent – 18th May 2013 – Tony Davison©
Nice. Your putting some miles in.