I had some time off last week and I thought the Bluethroat showing at Willow Tree fen would be worth a visit.

I set off around 7.30 and a pretty uneventful drive had me arriving about 9.30. There were plenty of cars parked on the roadside and the car park was also full, this bird was proving to be a star attraction.

I made my way down the track where a group of around 60 birders were eagerly awaiting the bluethroat to come out of cover.

there jhad been some posts on the internet about bad behaviour of photographers and when everyone is packed into a small place tensions can run high.

One poor guy wanted to go around the rest of the reserve so ran the gauntlet of walking down the track only to be berated by a rather irate chap oringinating from Birmingham/midland area.

Another one to brave the wrath of the crowd (bit harsh) was a guy walking his dog towards the group and again he came in for some unfair criticism.

This reminded me why I don't like twitching, however back to the bird, it was regularly coming out and showing for about 5 minutes then would disappear for 20 minutes to half an hour. Each time it came out more people started to drift away and buy lunch time there were only about 12 people there.

The crowd were generally very well behaved, there was no encroachment while I was there and at one point the bird flew to within 5 yards of me enabling me to get some nice shots and see this stunning bird close up.

A bluethroat in Britain is always a pleasure to see but one in February at such close quarters was an absolute delight. At the time of writing it is still present and not doubt will continue to draw crowds especially if it hangs around and begins to develop some breeding plumage.

Apart from a marsh harrier and some common wildfowl there wasnt a great deal more to see but a very nice trip all the same.