Back in Time – May - June 2003.

2003 five of us undertook a two-week birding trip to Spain; the five consisted of Brian, Roger and Geoff Wyatt, Martin Hallam and myself.

We flew out to Bilbao, hired a car and off we went for a great two week adventure travelling Spain and seeing some great birds but that is a story for another time.

A story within a story here though, as we had managed to identify a guaranteed site for Wallcreeper and confirm another for DuPont’s Lark we phoned home and a few days later a Mr Ian Lewington and a Mr Nic Hallam twitched the Wallcreeper and DuPont’s Lark from the UK. Flying out to Bilbao, hiring a car, seeing the birds, and flying back to the UK the following day! That is a twitch for you!

Anyway, we arrived back in the UK on Saturday 31st May, very happy, sun-tanned and knackered and a day to recover before getting back to work.

However, the pager ensured that did not happen as on the Sunday “mega” Black Lark, South Stack, Anglesey!

No contest you just have to do it!

We actually departed that Sunday night for Anglesey and drove the 250 or so miles up to Anglesey, the weather had been abysmal on Anglesey the day the lark was found and the conversation on the journey was IF the bird would still be present.

We arrived at dawn on Monday 2nd June and joined the assembled throng of between 6-700 birders; the burnt area where the lark had been seen the day before had been roped off and the larks presence was established relatively quickly in the same area.

The bird was easy to pick out even with the naked eye as it stood out well against a background of grasses and small plants and was seen and appreciated by everyone present with the bird ranging down to around 70 metres.

Monday 2nd June was a dull and murky day, with a cool westerly wind. Now bearing in mind we were still in “Spain mode” shorts etc. and forgetting how cold it can be in north Wales even in early June.

After about an hour, I started to shiver so I had to start moving around. I am not sure about the rest of the crew but I am sure we all felt the cold!

The trip was well worth it though, a fantastic bird to see in the UK and well out of range from central Russia.

Not a lot else noted that day apart from the inevitable Red-billed Choughs and several seabird species.

Anglesey has always been a great spot for rarities and on other twitches; and over the years, we have twitched Forster’s, Sooty and Bridled Tern, Killdeer Plover and White-billed Diver.