Sat 15th. Twitching a Swift.

This morning was a slow one, taking time over my tea and finding several moths in the trap for a change, including Brown Line Brown Eye, Snout and Buff Ermine. The drive across the marsh was improved by 3 male Marsh Harriers but little else. Plenty of swifts were hawking over ARC and the shingle flora was lovely.
After sorting out final details for our trip to Turkey we checked the Pager to see a Pacific Swift had been found at Trimley Marshes in Suffolk. We collected a drink, arranged to collect TG and PB and PS, diverted into Hamstreet village to buy sandwiches and crisps for lunch and set off, checking the pager regularly to see if the swift was still there.
The drive was pretty good and we arrived by 2.30. Unfortunately, the police had closed the lane because of the traffic so we had to park in the village which added an extra half mile to the 2.5 mile walk! As we trudged along the track we met lots of people coming away, all with pleased smiles until after about half an hour it started to rain and got heavier as we got closer. The message now was that the bird had disappeared with the rain but there was always the chance it would return so we trudged on, getting soaked. We reached the first hide but it was jam packed so I tried to find some shelter but decided to go on to the next hide where there was space to escape the downpour.
A quarter of an hour wait and then the shout went up, "Its Here", "on the left" and following a frantic few minutes, there it was. It hawked around the bushes at the back of the pond and then a heavy storm with hail, thunder and lightening saw the swift disappear. Taking the point of view that it had gone and come back before we hung on and as the weather slowly cleared, the swifts came back and the Pacific swift with it.

It spent a lot of time flying back and forth at the back of the ponds, occasionally coming closer.
As my camera battery had run out I couldn't even try and get a photo but there were plenty of others clicking away.









After another short absence the swift continued to hawk back and forth but we decided to leave around 6.00 as it was a good 45 minute walk back and then the 2.30 hour drive back.
We stopped off at the Tesco roundabout for a Burger King meal, I dropped P&P and DW and TG off and headed home, my 409th british bird.