Never too old to Twitch

Monday 14th February 2011

I'd just taken my Dad to the optician and was on the way back up the A5 when the Mega alert sounded on the pager. Rufous Turtle Dove refound at Chipping Norton. What the hell do I do now? Go for it says Dad, aged 95. Like a true twitcher. We fuelled up in Coventry and I struggled with pager messages, Sat navs and phone to get the info I needed before we set off, but we eventually made it. There were surprisingly few people there and I found myself next in line to go into the house but unfortunately the bird hadn't been seen in the garden for some time. I was concerned about leaving my Dad in the car but also about losing my place at the head of the small queue. I ran back to the car park and reparked the car a lot closer. When I got back to the house the bird was showing in an Ash tree viewable between the houses. At first the Rufous Turtle Dove was just a shape near to a couple of Wood pigeons but it turned and in better light showed well albeit briefly. As people left the house it was my turn to go in, I made my way to the kitchen window. I was surprised by the number of people there. Apparently the bird had showed on the grass just outside the window in the morning and there were plenty of amazing photos to prove it.
Unfortunately the bird failed to show in the garden again, but I was happy with the views I'd had and Dad had enjoyed his day on the edge of the Cotswolds.