I wouldn't class myself "birder" nor even a "birdwatcher." I'd say I was more a general nature lover. However, this glorious sunny Thursday, I became a lunch break "twitcher." A male Siberian rubythroat was the bird I wished to see. Any bird with Siberia in the name has a whisper of mythology about it.
After attending to business in town, I drove into Gulberwick to where the bird was found yesterday. I met folk walking down the track who were glowing having had excellent views, and they assured me that I too would have the same good fortune. After twenty minutes or so I'd seen blackcap, pechora pipit, sparrowhawk, the rear end of something disappear through a fence, and had a blether with some of Shetland's birdwatching community. But no rubythroat.
Time ticked on, and then suddenly - tadaaaa! The Siberian rubythroat appeared. What with the sound of clicking cameras and cooing sounds of appreciation, I felt like I was at an award ceremony amongst the paparazzi. We were treated to great views of the bird as it fed on the ground. A female blackcap appeared to have taken quite a fancy to this handsome mysterious male, following him around and tilting her head. The redness of the throat appeared all the more vibrant when the bird was on the grass, the sun catching it at just the right angle. Beautiful.
A massive thank you to the owners of the garden for being so obliging and thanks to anyone who has been inconvenienced with the increased volume of traffic. I reckon there will be a few contented birders/twitchers/birdwatchers/nature lovers in Shetland this evening - and I am glad to be one of them. I hope that the people travelling to Shetland to see it have a successful trip. The Rolling Stones Ruby Tuesday lyrics come to mind "Yesterday don't matter if it's gone."
Martin Hughes-Games read out my text on Autumnwatch - fame!!! They showed Jim Nicolson's photo too - brilliant :)