Giving in to temptation

I gave up twitching a few years ago except for good county birds. I never liked twitching alone but I did enjoy the social aspect of a car full of friends and enjoying the day out whether you connected with the rarity or not. Good rarities in the past are often captured by the 'crack' of both the group you are with or the people you meet or bump into time after time. I remember several hundred of us crammed inside a churchyard in Nottingham on a Sunday morning when the congregation were making their way into the church. An old lady said it was 'disgusting for all of these people walking all over the churchyard, this is hallowed ground'....it is now said Stewart, there's a Cedar waxwing here.

An industrial backdrop but the Little Egrets don't mind

A distant shot of the Whiskered Tern

The bairns wanted to see the tall ships at Hartlepool and I thought thats not far from Saltholme pools where the long staying juvenile Whiskered Tern is still hanging around. They didn't mind calling there first and see the ships later. I'm pleased I went as the Tern was easy to see and a joy to watch as it hawked low over the pools and resting occasionally. It may not be the most attractive place to watch birds but there was a huge variety to see and it was nice to catch up with a few Little Egrets. As for the ships..well the bairns liked them!

Hartlepool's historic quay

The first of the tall ships leaving Hartlepool