I should stick to things I'm good at

As I’ve written frequently before the real reason I dislike twitching is that I am no good at it but I have a habit of forgetting how bad I really am. Today I was not going to twitch but a phone call from Zak that he had found a Turtle Dove was too much. I had only seen my first in Norway this September on Værøy so it goes without saying that it is a real rarity around Oslo. It was in a garden and seemed settled so surely this would be a painless and easy twitch – most certainly not! 45 minutes was all the time it took for it to vanish. I spent 40 minutes peering into various gardens which was as long as I could bear and did find some Collared Doves but not the Turtle. I am sure this bird will show exceptionally well for others and even appear in a little article in the local rag with stunning pictures taken with a mobile phone by 95 year old Grete.

So after failing here I find myself drawn to Fornebu where I thought I would join in the search for the shrike and get myself some pictures of that Brent Goose. Well no joy there either although there was some good banter and company and a Jack Snipe which momentarily helped me forget that I should have been doing something else…