Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola Rosper Road Pools, North Lincolnshire, May 2011
In the early 2010’s I made a habit of being abroad when very rare birds were found locally and in the world of modern communications receiving text messages about gripping rarities as I sat somewhere several 1000 miles away. In this instance we were in Sweden photographing Great Grey Owls when the text came through but it was even more galling as I had been surveying this precise spot all winter, visiting the site twice a week from the previous October to late March. But hopefully it would stick around until I got back. Leaving Sweden late morning we were back in Stansted by mid-afternoon and after a frantic drive I was at RR by 18:30 with no-one looking on a Sunday evening - things did not look good but thankfully the Prat appeared and fed in front of me until dark. Only had the Canon 300 2.8 and converters with me but later in the week I was able to go back with the 500 f4.
On August 11th 1980 while working at Barrow Haven I saw a pratincole flying east mobbed by Sand Martins but by the time I had grabbed my bins it was going away and I never managed to get a specific ID on it - that is the closest I have come to finding any pratincole species in the UK.
