It was bound to happen sooner or later; a major rarity in a garden, during lockdown. In fact after the rarity bonanza of the autumn the lack of wintering rarities has been noteworthy. Perhaps nothing has been found, or maybe we are yet to hear of more rare birds lingering across the nation, then kept quiet as a consequence of Covid.
But a midwinter garden rarity happens regularly enough for it to not be a major surprise, even if the species itself is. It turns out this one was not suppressed, quite the opposite in fact. Poor-quality photos Tweeted on Saturday 6th February by a resident of Exmouth hinted at something very rare, but were far from conclusive. Some responded to say they thought it was a grey wagtail, but to me it had a 'New World' feel to it. I wasn't sufficiently convinced to raise my head above the parapet, but I kept a close eye on my phone. In the end it didn't take too long; an hour or so later a clearer photo emerged and showed the birds' identity. It was a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, the third for the UK. The better photo had been taken that very morning, so it was still there. The house owners had been watching the bird for several days and had correctly suspected the ID during the recent RSPB 'Big Garden Birdwatch'. I doubt they fully understood the rarity of the bird though, or that it's presence would cause such a dilemma for so many.
In normal times this would be a straightforward 'twitch-on', but of course these are not normal times. The location had been easily found and shared, but any attempt at twitching it was clearly a breach of current lockdown rules. The social media daggers were out for twitchers immediately; this had the potential to get very messy indeed but to be fair it was entirely understandable with the country in the grip of another Covid lockdown.
Chat on the Whatsapp groups was at least constructive. Clearly some people were going to go anyway. So if you did go, keep it quiet, absolutely no social media, respect the residents, be brief and get out of there quickly, and follow social distancing/face covering rules. Most of us, me included, watched and waited to see what happened next. I struggled with the inner demons and questioned both my sanity and resolve, not to mention my social conscience.
A few bolder individuals went on Sunday morning and quietly reported that it was easy to see from an alleyway to the rear of the garden, and that the locals were so far welcoming. Mockingbirds are thankfully very conspicuous birds, so it was possible to connect quickly and leave. Whilst the police had been informed (via antis on Twitter), they did not attend or appear to be concerned. And so it continued for the next couple of days - the anticipated storm didn't happen, or hadn't yet. The total social media embargo by listers appears to have helped keep the dissenting voices to a minimum.
Hearing that the bird could be seen easily from a quiet alley tempted others, and quickly there seemed to be a steady trickle of visitors. No one was saying anything, not even on closed Whatsapp groups, but the silence itself was deafening. I spoke to a couple of people that had been and they all reported easy and uncomplicated success. My resolve was - predictably - weakening and I started to convince myself that I could go safely. If I filled-up at home, travelled alone, took my own food and remained entirely away from others there was no risk to anyone. Get there first thing, see the bird and leave in minutes. No build up of people. Why not, well aside from the fact it is against lockdown rules and, legally, not likely to constitute a 'reasonable excuse' for travel? Still, despite the fact that I was confident that there was no risk of increasing Covid transmissions, I wasn't keen on the idea of being stopped by the police on the motorway, or being made subject of trial by social media. A new kind of dilemma for the addiction to twitching.
On Monday 8th February I had cause to travel to Stoke on Trent (legitimately). It was the first time I'd ventured on the motorway since lockdown and I was shocked at just how busy it was with cars and trucks. Fears of being pulled by the police disappeared instantly. The inner voice of temptation was getting louder.
So on Wednesday 10th February I sett off at 4.00 am and drove along a remarkably busy M6 and M5, arriving in Exmouth around 8am and parking in a nearby Co-op carpark. It was a short walk and then a sharp turn down the back alley behind Iona Avenue. Happily there was nobody else there. The stepladder up to the 'viewing wall' that had been kindly out out by a resident was still in place, along with a donations bucket. All it needed was the bird, which appeared within 2 minutes sat in it's favoured holly. It showed well for the next fifteen minutes, mostly in the holly but dropping down out of site a few times. It was that easy. I was back in the car by 8.30, in the office by 12.30. Now it was time for the kangaroo court to begin....
