Pinch me!

Am I dreaming or has Glamorgan become the new Norfolk? After years in the relative birding desert that is Glamorgan suddenly every other day turns up a seriously decent bird in the county. And it's all happening at Kenfig. First the Black-winged Stilt (county 1st), followed by the Whiskered Tern (4th record for Glamorgan) and now a Short-toed Lark (another county 1st). What's going on?! I'm going to wake up in a minute and normal service will be resumed e.g. getting excited by finding a Whimbrel.

Our Short-toed Lark (Photo: Jeff)

Fair play to John Wilson for finding the Lark - a cracking find which could easily have been overlooked.

I bunked off some work on Friday to see it and it was well worth the trip. I also managed to find a Hobby over Kenfig Pool. But sadly, while I was watching the Lark I witnessed another 'selfish photographer moment'. I'd been watching the bird for 10 minutes or so when another couple of birders turned up. They'd only just managed to get on to it when a well know Glamorgan photographer just couldn't resist trying to get that little bit closer to the Lark. It was as crap an example of field craft as I've ever seen, and it came from an experienced birder. It was embarassing - not to mention extremely frustrating - watching him. The bird - which everybody has been reporting as 'flighty' - took off and disappeared far away into some long grass. What a pillock (the photographer, not the bird).

This was very disappointing, especially coming so soon after similar exploits at the Black-winged Stilt twitch. I hope it doesn't become a regular sight in Glamorgan. The majority of our photgraphers know where to draw the line but we shouldn't put up with those idiots who don't, and we shouldn't be afraid of calling them back when they get too close to the bird.