If someone had mentioned this bird's name to me prior to last Saturday I would have thought they were on about a Common Market version of the venerable tarmac flattening machine! I'm no twitcher either, so when I was told that there was one up the road from where I was staying in Cowden, East Yorkshire I did a quick internet search for some pictures. Satisfied that it wasn't going to turn out to be a tiny, brown blob in the distance I set out on Sunday morning to have a look.
Thankfully it was still there. Sadly it wasn't near enough to get any decent shots and I didn't fancy my chances with the ever-present twitchers if I tried to get any closer than the hedge that bordered the farmers field. So I just had to stand there and make do.
The bird was sat pretty motionless for a good 10 minutes but luckily I was paying attention when it decided to take off and I managed to get some in-flight shots.
Here's the best of what I could manage...
