Deep in the dark tangle that is the Dell was a migrant that never ceases to put a smile on my face. Maybe it’s those sneaky crescents of white in the tail, the cocky pose and droopy wings or the ‘cute’ expression but it’s easy to see why a Robin was giving this Red-breasted Flycatcher a hard time.
To any autumn bird watcher those three initials; O.B.P., can mean only one thing … Olive Backed Pipit.
This bird of the Siberian Taiga was formerly known as Indian Tree Pipit and can be as crepuscular as it’s possible for a bird to be. One lurking in the very dark depths of the long grass and brambles within the wooded area of Wells next the Sea known as the Dell set birders a challenge to see it let alone permit its image to be stolen. Getting a 400mm F2.8 lens atop a fully extended tripod into a suitable position among brambles, rose suckers and miscellaneous vegetation at a time when the bird showed was more good luck than judgement. I’m still pulling out the thorns.
Letter From Norfolk 