River Warbler – Boughton Fen, near Boughton, Norfolk, 15^th July 1989

In early 1989 I had started work in London, but although I could cope with working there, I couldn’t cope with the idea of living there, so for a couple of weeks or so I prevailed on Gary Hitchen and his then wife Debbie and lived with them in Normandy Road in St. Albans. I then found a room to rent near to the city end of Lower Dagnall Street in St. Albans.

Gary and Debbie’s next-door neighbour, Steve Tossell, introduced Gary and I to The Farrier’s pub in Lower Dagnall Street, which was where the first branch of the Campaign for Real Ale was formed on the 20th November 1972. Although The Farrier’s was a tiny (but very homely) pub, not only did it have fantastic McMullen’s beer but it also had lots of interesting (and some not so interesting) clientele. Very soon, for instance, both Gary and I were playing for various of The Farrier’s football and cricket XIs. Better still, for me, Steve (who volunteered for the RSPB) wanted me to meet two regulars in particular, Peter Ewer and Mike Thompson, who he said were birders like me. The pub with everything! Sure enough, Pete, Mike and I did meet up, and quickly became friends.

So much so, that when a singing River Warbler turned up at Boughton Fen in Norfolk on Saturday the 8th July and then remained there for the next week that Pete asked me on the following Friday night whether I wanted to go with him and Mike to see it the following day.

So it was that on Saturday the 15th July that I was off on my first St. Albans team twitch with Pete (who had a car and always drove) and Mike (who had never learned to drive and twitch by public transport or by going with the likes of Pete). It was highly successful too.

After a leisurely start, we made it to the scene of the twitch in 1.5 hours. Once there, we then just had to stand and wait on the road adjacent to the fen scrub and reed-bed for the bird to appear, and sing, which it did, at regular intervals.

The song was amazingly loud and distinctive and was delivered from exactly the same song-post each time, at frequent intervals. As such, it gave good views as it quivered atop its perch; it was throwing its song out with its head right back as it was perched on a wild-rose bush.

It was a grey-brown locustella with a rounded tail, long-under-tail coverts, and a pale fringe to the closed wing. However, it also had streaking on the throat and upper breast, and white tipped under-tail coverts.

I suggested it was a memorable sight, which was one not likely to be repeated.... .

However, in June 1996 I saw one much closer (and even from my car) as it sang adjacent to a car-park near Kielder Water, in Northumberland in the first half of June 1996.

And then I saw one found by Peter Alley in the iris-filled gullies near Houlland on Unst in very early October 2018.

River Warbler, Boughton Fen, Norfolk, July 1989 (photographs credited to Peter Ewer).

Caspian Tern – Stanpit Marsh Local Nature Reserve, Christchurch Harbour, Christchurch, Dorset, 16^th June 1988

Unfortunately, again, contemporaneous notes are somewhat lacking in this instance. However, the bird in question was seen on both Thursday the 16th and Friday 17th June when, at least on the latter date, I would have been conveniently passing by as part of my work on the Purbeck to Southampton Pipeline Project..... . or something like that. Obviously. 

Shamefully, I can remember little about the bird. 

Even more shamefully, I can remember even less about my initial twitch on (I think) Thursday the 16th June. 

However, Alison Downs (nee Bunting), who was my girlfriend when I was working on the Purbeck to Southampton Pipeline project in Dorset and Hampshire, is always keen to tell me that, when the news broke, we were apparently just on our way off out for a meal. As such, seemingly she was dressed in high-heeled boots, and a purple Christian Dior knitted skirt with a long pearl necklace. Quite a look to be rocking at a twitch on the saltmarshes around of Christchurch Harbour. Meanwhile, clearly, I was just the scruffy bloke with her.

Sadly, there are no photographs to illustrate this account, neither of Alison all glammed up, nor of the Caspian Tern. It was a long time ago, after all.

Although I don't remember the details that Alison is always so keen to remind me of, I do remember that the bird frequented the mudflats of the harbour and was seen both resting on and flying over them. It was clearly a large tern approaching the size of Herring Gull with a black cap, forked tail and heavy, bright orange-red bill. It was highly distinctive from a distance, as a large grey and white, black-capped, orange-billed tern.

Many, many years later (28, in fact) in July 2016, I saw a well-travelled one-day bird at Carr Vale Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, whilst visiting my father in Chesterfield. Carr Vale was the scene of walks with the girls and their grandad when they were young and, subsequently, a place where I did various bird surveys whilst working on the ill-fated leg of the HS2 Project in Derbyshire and Yorkshire. 

In lieu of a photograph of the June 1988 Alison Bunting or Stanpit Marsh Caspian Tern, I managed to locate a photograph of the July 2016 Carr Vale Caspian Tern.

Caspian Tern, Carr Vale, Derbyshire, July 2016 (photograph credited to Peter Gerrity).