A Great Day Out

I rose early at 6am to drive to Haverfordwest. Peter and Rosemary Royle knew I would be at The Pembrokeshire Bird Conference later that morning so kindly invited me to try for the Western Orphean Warbler in their garden.  I arrived just after 8am and was asked to sit on a chair in a bedroom and wait  Lots of birds were coming to apples but not the warbler.  Peter and Rosemary had to go to get the conference ready so left me in charge of their house to lock up and get to Pembrokeshire College at latest 9.45am.

Western Orphean Warbler - Pembrokeshire photo Peter Royle

I enjoyed great views of commoner birds especially Great Spotted Woodpecker and Redwings but still no warbler.  At 9.10am I rose to pack up my camera as i thought I should get going.  A second or two later there it was.  Superb views adequately showing how large this species is compared with other sylvia warblers.  The light was poor so no photos so I locked the door happy.  At that moment I thought I heard a curse.  I had shut the door and flushed the birds momentarily from the garden.  It was then I saw a dozen figures huddled high in a hedge.  Sorry chaps but you were asked to come on Sunday.

The Conference was excellent.  Great talks all round, great food, good companionship made all the better for seeing such a rare bird in the UK.