Uber mega rarity - dusky thrush - in Margate Cemetery

There have been only nine previous instances of a dusky thrush being spotted in the UK over the past 100 or so years.  So not really a bird you'd expect to appear mere yards from where you're sitting down and having a breather in good old Margate cemetery.

The pics are pretty poor - taken on a day when I didn't have Bigmos with me, I had to use my 70-200 with 2x teleconverter and was at f5.6 to boot, which tends to produce soft images.

I got my snaps just as the sun went in.  This little bird seemed perfectly happy to have me nearby and continued grubbing about for food on the ground as I tried to work out what it was.  I could unquestionably have got much better pictures had I known she was such a rarity.  She flew up into a tree when I got a bit too close but later went back down to hunt for more food.  But shortly afterwards I spotted a fox cub and went off trying to get a few snaps of that.

Imagine my surprise when I read online that a couple of days after these snaps were taken, well over 1000 twitchers descended on the cemo hoping to catch a glimpse of this very bird...

Farley Foxtrot - king of Margate cemetery

This chap is starting to get used to me now.  I got almost within touching distance of him today.  All I had to offer him was rich tea finger biscuits but he seemed to enjoy them.  He then went off and stole loads of peanuts from the birds, which someone had put down earlier. He was in sight for about half an hour, popping up here and there, and having a leisurely amble round the cemetery in the unexpected sunshine.



Farley Foxtrot (17 pics)

Hastings Jack in the Green Festival 2013, Sunday

Decided to chase the sun after a day of gloom and chilly winds in Rochester at the Sweeps.  Hastings didn't disappoint and was sunny and very warm most of the day.  Things were fairly low key, with mostly just morris dancing and a bit of drumming.  The big procession takes place on the Monday but I knew it would be packed solid for that, with the added presence in Hastings of thousands of bikes for the May Day Run.



Hastings Jack in the Green (175 pics)

Rochester Sweeps Festival 2013, Monday

After spending the Sunday in Hastings, I returned on bank holiday Monday to the Sweeps.  Despite the forecast of unbroken sunshine, it managed to be cloudy a fair bit of the day, but at least it was nice and warm.  The parade was bigger than the previous year.  The high street was absolutely packed to the point where you could barely move at times.



Rochester Sweeps Festival (122 pics)

Rochester Sweeps Festival 2013, Saturday

It's that time again when dozens of morris dancers and folkies descend on Rochester for the annual Sweeps Festival.  It was certainly a bit warmer than last year.



Rochester Sweeps Festival pt1 (130 pics)

Why people emigrate to Spain

Springtime in England.

Why people emigrate to Spain (13 pics)

Blue sky & random nonsense

Ever had one of those days when you just take pictures simply because the sun is shining?  Today was one of those days.

Blue sky & random nonsense (27 pics)