I was in Holland over the weekend and went to IJmuiden pier on Saturday, where I enjoyed watching this Rock Pipit. At one point, it flew up ahead of me and I thought I had flushed it until a Sparrowhawk almost flew straight through my legs after it! I felt quite violated as it seemed as if the Sparrowhawk had used me to sneak up on the pipit so I was very pleased to see it get away.
On Sunday, we went to the Maasvlakte, where an immature Long-legged Buzzard has returned (from where, I wonder) for its second winter. It took us a long time to see it but we eventually got distant looks at it being mobbed by a Kestrel and with a Common Buzzard alongside for comparison. Some Pink-footed Geese circling around above us where the first birds we saw and the very last were three Woodlarks feeding at the roadside, some other highlights being displaying Red-breasted Mergansers, a Green Sandpiper, and a high-tide roost of at least 900 Curlew.
Today, I twitched the first-winter Pied Wheatear which turned up in Belgium while I was away. Now this is how a twitch is supposed to happen - I walked around 20 minutes from the nearest station and arrived to see the bird sitting in full view on a signpost. I could have turned round and left after ten minutes but stayed a bit longer and watched it catching grubs along the railway tracks although it was a bit too far away to photograph.
