Black-winged Stilt, Exminster RSPB

I watched with more than interest, the reports of Black-winged Stilts from the adjoining counties of Somerset and Dorset and hoped that we would eventually get one here in Devon and today it happened. The weather gets worse! It's a day for not only ducks but any bird comfortable in an aquatic environment so I suspect that when these three flew over the marsh, now almost a lake after the heavy rains of the last few days, they couldn't resist a stop over.

I love this species, so elegant so attractive and so ridiculous really, their legs don't seem capable of supporting their bodies. I have seen them in other parts of Europe and even this time last year in Australia so I am very familiar with them but nevertheless, who can resist them.

The three were feeding alongside a flood in the fields about 100 yards in front of me, it was raining and raining hard. At first I was alone and all the time that, that was the case I was hopeful that they would fly from the distant flood to the one much nearer to my position. Other people started to arrive and at first, decorum was observed but pretty soon it turned in to the usual noisy melee that often accompanies this kind of birdwatching, colloquially called a "Twitch". At one point the three took to the air and were flying towards us but did an airborne u-turn and flew to the pool even further away. That was fine for the other observers who had scopes and as long as they had seen the bird and could 'tick" it off they didn't really mind! Thankfully it rained harder and the little crowd thinned to just two, me and another more serious observor, but the rain "persisted" down and he left as well......... result! I hudled against the deluge and then they were in the air and flying in my direction, they landed to my right, much nearer and started to work towards me. After not many minutes one flew back followed by a second but the third continued on it's path towards me. In the pouring rain, I took a few pictures and I am relatively pleased with the outcome. Yet again an example of patience and the need to go just that extra mile, well in this case just an extra few yards really.