I had just finished doing some gardening when Phil Woollen phoned me to say that Mark Turner had a possible Little Swift at New Brighton! HOLY SHIT! Cue pandemonium as I fled the house and shot off up the M53 to New Brighton, making calls on the way. No news had been put out on the bird services, so I rang Dan Pointon to prewarn him whilst I was speaking to him. The mega alert then went off. I made it to New Brighton. I bombed it there and was met by Mark, who put me straight on the bird.
The bird was showing unbelievably well in the rain, which helped to keep it low. At times, it was buzzing around our heads, and then it flew out into the middle of the Mersey before flying along the beach below us! Amazing stuff. This was another great bird I had longed to see after missing the 2005 bird in Norfolk. This year was turning out to be a fantastic year for gripbacks; long may it continue!
