Western Purple Swamphen and Pokemon Minsmere 1st August

So when a Western Purple People Eater Swamp Monster turned up at the RSPB flagship reserve of Minsmere, it was time to set an alarm for an ungodly hour, fire up the Yaris and set the controls for the heart of Suffolk.


Please view at 720p HD

I have been fortunate to see these wonderful birds previously on Mallorca amongst the s'Albufera wetlands although this individual is a very good candidate for a British first.

Courtesy of Ewan

Courtesy of Terry Sherlock

Keen to share our good fortune with the boy Last, 
we rallied to find a phone signal from which to enthuse 
our boundless joy at seeing such a mega bird at the 
start of the week to our chum back in Oxford...

After prolonged views of this brilliant dino Rail I spent a while wandering around the rest of the reserve scoping out many of the returning autumnal passage waders from the hides.

I also had time to collect a few Pokemon go Oxon Birders edition as well AWESOME!!