A Spoonbill at King's Meads

1st June 2023

It was mid-afternoon on Thursday when I received a call from Stuart Fox saying that while he was searching for Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies on Park Mead at King's Meads a large white bird flew over. At first he assumed it was a Little Egret but on closer inspection realised it was a Spoonbill. It flew round and landed on the flooded area south of the footpath.

I grabbed my camera and drove down there and soon found the bird feeding amongst several clumps of juncus sp. The best position from a light point of view was from the path to New Gauge but from here the bird was visible but most of the time obscured by the clumps of rush. The best viewing point was from the bank that runs parallel to the New River and at times gave uninterrupted views but looking into the sun. Oh well, you can't win them all.

Here are some of the shots I was able to get.

Well that was an unexpected surprise and a very special thanks to Stuart for the phone call. It was very much appreciated.