Wryneck

Given the impressive numbers of the species around in the past couple of weeks, I've been really hoping to run into a Wryneck at the Brooks recently, and have been diligently scouting out and regularly checking likely areas of the reserve - so far without any joy.

So it was a nice surprise to receive a message on Monday afternoon from friends who live a short distance from us in Pulborough saying they'd just been watching one in their garden, and would I like to pop round for a look. Of course I said yes and headed straight there after work.

The bird had apparently gone into hiding for a while but thankfully had reappeared by the time I arrived and allowed a brief glimpse of it before disappearing back into bushes. It then re-emerged a little while later and showed well on the recently cut meadow/lawn for a few minutes before flying off into bushes, from which it didn't emerge again, thanks in part to a Robin which chased it even deeper into cover. 

A welcome Pulborough tick for me, and it really does make you wonder how many of these birds must be out there in the wider countryside at the moment!