Dusky dreams come true...

I sometimes go through phases of birds I want to see. A couple of weeks ago it was Citrine Wagtail, not sure why, but I just really want to see one. However, for some reason, this week I've been very interested in Dusky/Radde's Warblers. Although not the most colourful of birds their origins are truly amazing. Both Dusky and Radde's are highly migratory breeding in the very east of Asia, with there entire populations moving south to winter in South East Asia. In other words, a very faraway from Britain! To my surprise and delight, a Dusky Warbler was found at Chapel Porth near St Agnes on Saturday. Being my current target bird I had to try and see it. So early yesterday morning, I headed up to Chapel Porth. After a short walk up the valley, I got to the site where it had been reported. Apart from a few Chiffchaffs there wasn't much around, no sign of that aforementioned warbler. After about half an hour of looking I heard a sharp "tcek" coming from the willows, it was the DUSKY WARBLER! It then flew out of the willows over my head and into some bracken on the other side of the path. There it continued to call but it was out of view. Over the time, I managed some good but brief views of it as it poked out of the cover. It would disappear quite a lot but would always give its presence away with its call. As the day went on it became more and more elusive and seeing it became really quite difficult. Unfortunately, its elusive nature made viewing difficult, and photographing it, almost impossible. Whilst watching the Dusky, I found a Firecrest in the same willows, which provided a bit of entertainment when the Dusky went missing.