Memorable moments.
25th August 2024
There are some truly standout moments that stick in my birding memory and on a birding trip to north east China in 2009 there was most definitely one. We had been walking through the grounds of an abandoned hotel which had become really overgrown and the bird life was quite remarkable with huge numbers of warblers at every turn, Yellow Browed, Hume’s, Pallas’s, Dusky, Raddes, and Arctic. Flycatchers flitted around us and little Buntings darted amongst the undergrowth. However, it was difficult to pin these birds down for a photo because of the dense foliage and their fast movements. Nevertheless it was quite an experience to have these rare birds in such numbers all around, any of these is a very good bird back home in the UK.
In amongst this avian extravaganza I could see something moving in the dense undergrowth in front of me, and for some reason and I don’t know why because there was plenty of entertainment around me, I kept watching. Then one of those special birding moments that you never forget happened. A bird just appeared in front of me - a bird I had only ever dreamed of seeing, a male Siberian Rubythroat, just the name sounds so evocative.⁹
It’s debated to be either a member of the Chat or Old World Flycatcher family, whatever the final conclusion it is a very nice bird indeed and is top of the list for me – I won’t forget it ever.
In amongst this avian extravaganza I could see something moving in the dense undergrowth in front of me, and for some reason and I don’t know why because there was plenty of entertainment around me, I kept watching. Then one of those special birding moments that you never forget happened. A bird just appeared in front of me - a bird I had only ever dreamed of seeing, a male Siberian Rubythroat, just the name sounds so evocative.⁹
It’s debated to be either a member of the Chat or Old World Flycatcher family, whatever the final conclusion it is a very nice bird indeed and is top of the list for me – I won’t forget it ever.