Rock Thrush

Probably wasn't worth trying to take photos of a distant bird in appalling light and drizzle while catching hypothermia. Apparently it's not yet safe to wear flip flops and shorts north of the Humber - in stark contrast to sunny London which reached 22°C yesterday! Decent bird though, despite being pretty wet and not a male. If you're interested in numbers, it's the 450th species of bird I've seen in Britain & Ireland. Thanks to Dan for driving and Rob for the fish and chips!

Rock Sandpiper

Turning up a week or so before our trip, a Rock Sandpiper at Bodega Head instantly became one of our primary trip targets - not only are they pretty difficult to catch up with in California, but it was a bird that both Rich and Lee 'needed'. We failed to find it on our first evening but, returning the following morning in better light, Rich located it low on the rocks off the headland in the company of Black Turnstones and Surfbirds.

Views were initially pretty poor (distant and looking down on the bird), so I made the decision to scramble down the cliff for closer views, which soon paid off. First the bird remained quite distant (click for larger versions):

...but soon showed to ten metres: