Mickletown Ings twitching Little Bustard

During my time away a male Little Bustard had been found in a field not far from Swillington Ings, which happens to be less than an hours drive from my house. Since it was so close, and the bird was a stunning male, it would have been foolish to not twitch were it still present when I returned. My first day back in England and the bird was still present, so I headed over in the afternoon hoping the morning crowd might have died down.
The bird was very distant and not very showy. Views were largely restricted to head and neck emerging from a ditch, but at one point after an hours wait it started to move about a bit more. It really was stunning but just a shame that it could not be seen any closer. I stayed on site for about an hour before heading off, hoping to avoid rush hour traffic.

-Little Bustard

It was late afternoon when I got home, so decided to head straight up to Soil Hill. This was an excellent decision as I had one of the best afternoons birding the Hill has ever provided. There were two Spotted Flycatchers, two Willow Warblers, a Blackcap and a patch tick in the form of a Bullfinch. There was also a flyover Tree Pipit but sadly I only heard it call and failed to actually see the bird.

-Spotted Flycatcher

Species List:

Mickletown Ings: Mute Swan, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Little Bustard, Eurasian Coot, Black-headed Gull, Common Tern, Magpie, Barn Swallow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, 

Soil Hill: Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sparrowhawk, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Bullfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Common Hawker, Wall Brown, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Small White, Small Copper, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Roe Deer, 

Germany; Dithmarscher Koog

During the afternoon in the office word reached our ears that a Great White Pelican had been seen again at Dithmarscher Koog, where it had been seen before I had arrived. After work we headed there and were rewarded with EXCEPTIONAL views of this STUNNING bird chilling out on the water. I, for one, am a big pelican fan so as soon as news broke I was running on pure adrenaline and it did not dissapoint, actively feeding on the lake in the company of Mallards and Shovelers. Other nice birds for the evening birding included Black Redstart and Spotted Redshank.

-Great White Pelican

Species List:
Dithmarscher Koog: Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Goldeneye, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Woodpigeon, Pied Avocet, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Little Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Great White Pelican, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Common Kestrel, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Black Redstart, Starling, White Wagtail, Common Linnet, Goldfinch,