In case anyone is unaware of the term, dipping is part of the twitching vernacular. It means hearing about a rare bird and then failing to see it. With my expanded patch it comes with the territory, but I still hate it.
Yesterday was a classic. I was preparing to twitch the Hawfinches which have been visiting Tardebigge Church when I got a message from Mark. At first light he had discovered a Tundra Bean Goose and a Pink-footed Goose on the ice with Greylag Geese which had been roosting at Arrow Valley Lake. Unfortunately it was now 09.00 and I was aware that they may have gone, but I went anyway, and dipped.
Never mind, there was still the Hawfinches. Off I went, arriving at the church to find a birder/photographer staring into the trees. He had seen two birds twenty minutes earlier. I had a little short of two hours before I had to keep an appointment with the dentist, and used all of it seeing Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Redwings and nothing much else. Another dip.
I tried Arrow Valley Lake again at dusk, but the fog came down and the Greylags didn't.
This morning I tried again at the lake. A flock of Greylag Geese was on the ice, which is making cracking noises as it thaws. Mark joined me, and we counted 64 Greylag Geese before having to accept there was nothing with them. Dip three.
Time to do some proper birding. I counted 12 Little Egrets in the roost, a drake Goosander, and six Shovelers as I headed back to the car park. Then, a bit of luck. A Water Rail flew across a gap in the reedbed at the north-eastern corner. I repositioned myself and rediscovered it walking along the ice at the base of the reeds. I tried for some photos but the light was too poor. But it turned out to be adequate for filming.
That's the essential difference between twitching and birding. For the former the best you can hope for is relief (when the bird's there), but in birding you can only ever be delighted (when lady luck shines).
This is the first Water Rail I have seen (as opposed to heard) at Arrow Valley Lake.
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