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| Up in the branches - the thrush bides its time on a bough |
THE rare black-throated thrush that turned up in Lincolnshire on Thursday was displaying better than ever this morning (Saturday).
For some periods, notably just after sunrise, it skulked in high branches in the trees on the Grimsby Institute campus.
But it spent far longer on the grass below, pecking (successfully) for worms and other insects to the delight of scores of admiring birders who had come from all parts of Lincolnshire, the East Midlands and Yorkshire, plus a few from beyond.
With few students about, the bird - a vagrant from Asia - was mostly undisturbed.
At lunchtime today, up to 100 pairs of eyes were trained on the thrush.
Of similar size and behaviour, the black-throated belongs to the same family as our native song thrush and blackbird, but tends to favour damper habitat.
There is also a red-throated thrush, and the two species are thought occasionally to interbreed where their territories overlap.
Some observers believe that the bird has only just arrived in Lincolnshire, but there is also a theory that it may have been here for much longer but gone undetected until staff member Josh Forrester hit upon it last Thursday morning.
The hope is that it will stay longer, perhaps providing diversion and relaxation for students as they swot for exams.
In the meantime, a debt of thanks is due to the management at Grimsby Institute for so readily accommodating so many birders - plus the thrush - on their splendid campus.
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| Brilliant, just where we want it - on the deck! |
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| Yup, I've got it in perfect focus |
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| Grimsby Institute - backdrop to a memorable ornithological event |
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| They came from far and wide to see the rare visitor from Asia |
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| What a cracking bird - it's really putting on the style! |
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| Double accolade for the institute - provider both of outstanding education and of an outstanding rare bird! |
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