Coracking Bird. Roll Up Roll Up.

While in France (see posts below for trip report) I missed a couple of good birds on a work, local, Yorkshire and UK scale which was a bit of a shame - not that I can complain with some of the great birds (trip list here) I did get while in France.

One of the birds I missed was the Roller that was briefly at Spurn (found my Martin Gardner), however this was eclipsed by missing the Western Orphean Warbler at Hartlepool Headland on the same day, but neither of them hung around/lived, so I soon got over it!

Just before I was due to return to the UK from France I heard that the Roller had been relocated just a bit further north at Aldbourgh, I now had to hope that it would stay put for 4/5+ days more so I could get back home and see it at some point.  It looked like a pretty impressive adult from the photos so I was quite keen to see it, being 100% better looking than the 1st year birds that seem to turn up.  For many of the recent twitchable birds I seem to have been abroad and not managed to connect with them, for example I'd just arrived in Costa Rica to see the one turned up in Northumberland in 2006 so didn't see that one.

Luckily it hung around for every Tom Dick and Harry to connect with (and get some amazing photographs) and after work I drove across and enjoyed some really great views of the adult (male) as it fed in a drilled field, occasionally getting chased off by the odd Lapwing.

I saw a lot of breeding European Roller on Cyprus last year, but you can't beat a Roller on British soil (apart from Bee-eater maybe), they are just such spectacular birds! I grabbed a couple of record shots on my phone when it came fairly close. Time like this I wished I had a big DSLR! Anyway here are my pictures, check out surfbirds/birdguides galleries if you want to see some proper ones! Impressive when on the ground, but even more-so when in flight.

Roller on the deck... (Phone-scoped)

Roller off the deck... (Phone-scoped)

Highlight however was probably the oldish lady that parked her car on a blind bend with the back end stuck into the road to stop and have a look! She didn't even have any binoculars, scope or camera from what I could see!!! Classic!

Interestingly there appears to be a second European Roller less than 10 miles away at Hornsea! Crazy stuff birds!