Citrine Wagtail Yes No Yes

Birders........So cynical of the Citrine news from yesterday now as today it cant be found so they start to question previous sightings. It cant have gone today, it must have gone a few days ago and all yesterdays were wrong.......i cant have missed it by a day..........Rightly so?

So Saturdays sighting on RBA/Bird Guides were one at 8.30am North Hide, 2.00pm North Hide, 3.30pm East Hide, 4.30 Beach behind East Hide.

There were a lot of people looking for this bird on Saturday afternoon at RSPB Minsmere, in fact from North Hide at 1.30-3.00pm you could see that all other hides were full.

I make no comment on sighting 1 & 4 however the 2pm was rather amusing. A full hide, one guy shouts i'm on it (this guy is latterly the only other guy who stayed with me in North Hide).

Everyone is now on a potential Citrine Wagtail. Actually that's a lie there was a couple arguing amongst all of this about if he was looking at a Lapwing

Yep, i was on it as well and can safely say i was on a Tick Tick Boom ** twitter moment. I was happy, everyone was happy. News went out on the services by somebody.

Now from the depths of my insides, even though i had done the deed and actually tweeted Tick Tick Boom **, i heard my self mumble loud enough so that others could hear - Pied.

Quite a few in my immediate vicinity looked at me as if i was mental, after all not 1 minute ago the over all consensus was everyone had seen a Citrine Wagtail.

Now the original guy, then started to say the same at the other end, he looked down at me and we both shook our heads - it was a Pied Wagtail

The wheels were however in motion for the Citrine Wagtail to be forever immortalized as confirmed by everyone bar two in that hide. Eventually the bird and the erherm rest of the Pied Wagtails got spooked by a Sparrowhawk and left.

North Hide emptied bar two.

We scanned the web and finally found a photo of the bird taken from Minsmere that week - the bird just seen was 100% not the same.

I felt a little deflated now - i mean come on - i'd Boom Boomed it.

Eventually i too left and headed to East Hide as whilst all this was going on a Red Necked Phalarope had been seen, would be nice to see this.

East Hide was full again but decent views could be made of the Phal. The next thing i know is the chatter is up, the bird has been seen and this time its good. To help matters the guy who finds it this time is Ian Barthorpe, he works and birds Minsmere. The bird is good - i feel happier now about the Boom Boom bit :)

Shortly after the Wagtails all head over the hide and towards the beach and i leave towards the sluices and eventually home

So note to self, don't Boom Boom that quick and note to anyone who ticked on the 2pm bird, you still need it!

Pied and not the bird mentioned