Mention should be made here in honour of another exceptional local find this past week 'just across the water' (the river Lea that is) on Tottenham Marshes of a singing 1st summer male Common Rosefinch. It was found last Sunday morning (13th) by members of the Tottenham Marshes survey group. During it's 3-day stay (and it may have been there longer of course), the bird - the first (twitchable) in London since 1986! - proved extremely elusive, spending most of it's time singing from thick vegetation near the picnic area on Clendish Marsh by the Stonebridge Lock. I myself only managed 3 all-too-brief flight views in close to 6 hours of watching; a few others were lucky enough to see it perched, for a mere few seconds.
Alas the Rosefinch, (or more aptly named by PW 'Brownfinch') - who's rather plaintive 5-whistle song recalled the words: 'pleased to, pleased to meet you' - never ventured across the great divide that is the Lea navigation, and consequently never made it onto the Walthamstow reservoirs patch list (although it is on my personal one as I've always included Tottenham marshes as part of my patch, he said smugly ;o)...
Like this year's earlier Dusky Warbler, heaven knows when or if another member of the species will ever grace our humble patch, and I'm just glad I saw it at all.
LB
(Record shot 'phonescoped' at 300m by Neville Smith)
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