It's just like being in Nepal

Needed to get out and see some wildlife and there seems to be so little about anywhere at the moment so I thought I'd have another look for the Pallas's Warbler on the Hants / Berks border near Eversley. I arrived in light snow to find 15 or so birders looking aimlessly in the wrong direction so wandered along the river and almost immediately a small bird with a bright lemon rump flew from my side of the river to the opposite bank and started feeding a few inches above the river, working it's way along the bank. I called the birders over and everyone got good views but no-one bothered to say thank you! This scenario was repeated a couple of times over the next 2 hours so when I again refound the bird, preening a few feet away I thought 'sod the lot of them' and I kept quiet and just watched the bird on my own. This worked out very well and the bird eventually came and fed less than 2 metres from me on the bank.

Various other species were working the bank of the river and assorted flood debris, searching for food. Most were things that you would expect; Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Grey Wagtail, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, etc. but the sight of a Meadow Pipit scrabbling about on the bank under brambles just a few feet away showed how tough things are.

So why the post title? Well the last time I saw a Pallas's Warbler in the snow was in Nepal and the open-sewer smell of the River Blackwater was reminiscent of a certain wall in Pokhara that I spent a 'pleasant' hour crouched behind, suffering the effects of Giardia. I'll spare you the details.