ANOTHER BELTED KINGFISHER AND ANOTHER DIP!

After a few hours sleep this morning I awoke to the sound of the MEGA alert 

Holy shit and only an hour up the road.I got dressed,got my stuff together and headed North.After a few phonecalls on the way the bird had been seen by a local fisherman this morning and apparently had flown back down river.

On arrival on site I met up with Chris Batty who had just received a photograph of the bird,gripped off already and no sign of the bird!

I spent the next three hours walking south down the river but there was no sign of the bird!Little Egret,Kingfisher and a Goosander was the best I could do.There were plenty of familiar faces looking but as the light was fading it was time to give up!

This was my third dip for this species having missed the 2005 bird in Staffordshire,arrived the next morning with the masses only to find out the bird was now in East Yorkshire,couldn't go to Scotland as i was going abroad and then in 2008 arrived on St Marys the next day and the bird had done a moonlight flit!Why do I do this to myself.

This was the fifth record for Britain 

2008-Porth Hellick, St Mary’s, 2CY+ male, 18th April-St Mary's-Isles Of Scilly

2005-Tixall, first-summer male,1st April,photo-Staffs;also in East Yorkshire,North-east     

Scotland till 8th April

1979- Sladesbridge, first-winter male,2nd October to June 1980;probably 

same,Boscathnoe Reservoir,Penzance,adult male,23rd to 29th August 1980,photo-Cornwall

1908-River Allen, Sladesbridge, female,shot, November-Cornwall

River Ribble

Anyway fingers crossed the Belted Kingfisher is still in the area and I can get it whapped on!