Blenheim Phalarope

On Thursday afternoon I got a call on the grapevine to say that dedicated Oxon birder Phil Barnett (who found both the marsh warbler and the spoonbill at Otmoor this year) had come up trumps again in the form of a grey phalarope at Blenheim Palace lake. Within a couple of hours I had nipped down there and managed immediately to find the bird thanks to some directions from Phil and set about trying to digiscope it. Phalaropes are always hard to digiscope as they never stop moving but I did manage a couple of passable shots. Apparently only four birders managed to see the bird which was gone by the late evening.


The Blenheim grey phalarope

A tick for both my county and national year lists.

Oxon County Year List 2009
174: grey phalarope Blenheim Palace 03/09/09

National Year List 2009
217: grey phalarope Blenheim Palace 03/09/09