Zitting Cisticola: These small, brown birds with a distinctive streaked back and a broad, white-tipped tail that it frequently flicks are also known as the fan-tailed warbler are are visitors to the UK with fewer than ten records recorded in the UK. They primarily breed in southern Europe and are largely sedentary and classed as resident in their range.
Having been mad busy with work I was unable to go mid-week, so had the nervy wait until Saturday when Kris and I embarked on the 10 hour round trip to Southwold, Suffolk.
Black Stork: Zitting Cisticola are known for their characteristic "zitting" song that erupts into a series of sharp, repetitive calls given during an erratic, undulating display flight.
When we arrived the bird was singing from the buckthorn which by all accounts it had been doing most of the early morning. But, not long after we arrived the bird changed its behaviour and widened its ranged, moving over the marshy grassland and taking regular display flights.
Walberswick is a tourist hotspot for crabbing, birdwatching and those who enjoy a serene seaside holiday, the village of Walberswick is one of Suffolk's gems and was not only home to the very rare Zitting Cisticola, but a juvenile black stork too.
We soon made our way to Boyton Marsh and Slaters Pit near Lowestoft and relocated the large bird sleeping on the side of a small dyke. The Black Stork is a large bird, with a glossy black body and white underparts. It is a rare but regular visitor to Britain, breeding in eastern Europe and migrating to Africa.
This was my 2nd black stork that I've seen the the UK with the first being at Spurn, although at the time it was miles way and obscured in the tall grass, this one however was could not have been any more different.
It was too close at times I had to back off in order to it in in my camera lens. An amazing experience seeing one like this, I've only ever been this close to black stork in Lesvos. I could have picked it up and taken it home!
