A Black throated Thrush at Whipsnade Zoo 14th December 2019

Adult male Black throated Thrush c Mark Rayment

December is generally a quiet month with regard to rare birds being discovered in Britain. Personally I felt this was no bad thing this year. after a hectic late autumn chasing rarities the length of the British Isles. However it was all change on December 11th when a 'strange thrush' was reported with a flock of Redwings, feeding on berries in the grounds of Whipsnade Zoo, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire.

Fortunately a very good photo was taken of the bird in question and publicised on social media with the result the bird was soon identified as an adult male Black throated Thrush, a very rare visitor to Britain with only eighty four previous records and none for Bedfordshire. The fact it was a smart adult male with a striking black face, throat and breast, contrasting with dark grey upperparts and dull white underparts rather than the drab, poorly marked mainly immature or female individuals that have arrived here previously, only served to make it doubly attractive and enticing.

Black throated Thrushes breed from the Ural Mountains in eastern European Russia to northern and central parts of Siberia and southwards as far as northwest Mongolia. They are migratory and spend the winter from the Middle East across to the Himalayas and southwards as far as southern China and northern Burma.

The Black throated Thrush went missing from the zoo the next day but the day after, sensational photos appeared of it still in the zoo's grounds, feeding on a berry laden tree and on the ground around 'Hullabazoo' the children's play area in the zoo. It looked to be very confiding and at times gave exceptionally close views. This was too much to resist so I made plans to visit the zoo the next morning. It was only about an hour's drive from my home and there was no need for an early start as the zoo does not open until 10am. My only concern was that tomorrow was a Saturday which inevitablty would mean the zoo would be very busy with many birders rushing to see the thrush plus ordinary folk coming for a day out at the zoo. It would be unlikely that I would get as close views as the lucky few had got yesterday.

I was about to leave home the next morning when I got a text from Peter informing me he was going for the thrush too and he would see me there if I was going. To save both of us driving I called him back immediately and told him I would pick him up on route. There was no sense in both of us driving especially as we live relatively close to each other. The company would also be welcome.

We got to the zoo in good time and drove into the very welcome free car park at just after 9.30 in the morning but grey clouds had ominously gathered over this part of The Chilterns and soon it was raining hard, the rain whipping across the car park, propelled by a strong, viciously cold north wind. There were a number of other cars parked around us obviously containing birders. Most of us remained in our cars awaiting 10am and in our case for the rain to ease.

When the zoo opened it was still raining hard but a number of birders braved the rain and headed for the zoo's entrance. We stayed put, not relishing getting soaked and, in my case, fairly relaxed as I had already seen two Black throated Thrushes in Britain. Peter however had never seen one.

Checking my phone at around 1030am there was news on RBA (Rare Bird Alert) that the thrush had already been seen in the grounds. The rain eased shortly afterwards so we promptly got ourselves together and headed for the zoo's entrance. Relieved of the princely sum of £21.97 each to get in, we headed for 'Hullabazoo' where the thrush, according to RBA, had been feeding in the tree full of berries. Although the sun had now made an appearance it was still a thoroughly raw and cold day due to the bitter wind that discomfited us with regular and prolonged icy blasts.

It did not take us long to see where the thrush was meant to be, as sixty or more birders were standing around the play area and looking at a large tree festooned with bunches of bright red berries. There was. however. no sign of the thrush but enquiries revealed it had been here a few minutes earlier but had then flown off towards some distant trees beyond the miniature railway.

Adult male Black throated Thrush c Adrian Webb

The popular opinion was that it would return to the berry tree so we stood and waited, braving the relentless wind. Redwings and Blackbirds regularly flew into the tree to consume the berries but the large number of birders standing around, none too quietly, was I felt sure, acting as a deterrent to the Black throated Thrush making a return and so it proved.

Redwing

After about forty minutes with most of us standing about and getting progressively colder there was a concerted surge of birders away from the play area, heading for the miniature railway and the landscaped grounds beyond. The thrush had just been sighted there feeding with some Redwings. Frankly the chance to move and get some circulation going was more than welcome.

We followed the crowd, crossing the railway line by a small bridge and making for the grassy areas beyond but there were just too many birders, with some insisting on encroaching too close to the feeding flock of Redwings which apparently contained the Black throated Thrush. The sudden appearance of many frantic birders, some running, unsurprisingly persuaded the Redwings to fly off. We never saw a sign of the Black throated Thrush just brief views of fleeing Redwings.

I felt tired and irritable surrounded by such a large number of birders some of whom  demonstrated an annoying lack of consideration and we decided to return to the play area to continue our vigil by the original berry laden tree. Mark. a twitcher friend of mine arrived. He had managed to take some brilliant photos of the thrush yesterday due to the fact that only about half a dozen birders were present rather than the hundred or so now milling around the grounds. 

Mark has kindly allowed me to use some of his images to illustrate this blog as has Adrian who saw the thrush really well on Sunday.

Adult male Black throated Thrush c Mark Rayment

A few Redwings and Blackbirds flew in to feed in the berry tree but they never stayed for long. The wind was now beginning to make me feel very cold as there was nowhere to shelter from it. I gave in to the elements and went to the nearby cafe for a welcome coffee to warm me up and then returned to the tree.

Another alert prompted a second mass evacuation of birders back in the direction of the railway and the grounds beyond. The thrush had been re-found. Peter went with them while I stayed with Mark, hoping for a miracle return of the thrush to the tree in front of us.

Fifteen minutes later Peter called my phone to tell me the thrush was feeding in a berry tree way over by the engine shed and he had seen it. I was pleased for him but stood my ground. Peter called again ten minutes later to say the thrush was still there and this time I made a move and headed for the engine shed and hopefully a sight of the elusive Black throated Thrush.

I found about forty birders lined up along the edge of a small partially flooded road, looking across to the engine shed some hundred metres distant. I enquired of a birder as to the whereabouts of the thrush and he very kindly gestured to his scope and invited me to look through it at the Black throated Thrush which was perched on the edge of a large tree with the now familiar bright red berries.  

I reflected that this is the paradox of birding in a crowd such as this. Most of my fellow birders are always willing to offer help or assistance if required and extend the common courtesies expected in such situations but there is always a minority that seem to lack any social grace or awareness or protocol and feel no remorse in pushing in and/or ignoring your presence and obscuring your view. I encountered both extremes but you just have to put up with it these days as it will never change.

Crowd scenes

Although the thrush was a little distant I could clearly see its overall grey body plumage and striking black face and breast, as it sat on a twig in the sun. Its mainly yellow bill was particularly noticeable. It remained perched for a few minutes and then was lost to view as it moved its position in the tree.

The distant berry tree favoured by the Black throated Thrush

Ten minutes later it was re-located but now on the ground, feeding on a carpet of fallen berries below the tree but all too quickly it worked its way around a corner and was not seen again.

We hung around for thirty or so minutes but there was no further sign of the thrush although many Redwings were still flying in and out of the tree, feeding on the berries. Getting increasingly chilled we returned to the original play area and sought sanctuary from the wind in the welcome warmth  of the cafe where we had another coffee before braving the cold once more to stand with Mark near the original berry tree, but the thrush was not there and it never really looked like it would return.

We gave up the unequal struggle with the wind and having spent a large amount of money to get into the zoo decided to make the most of it and visited the nearby butterfly house, finding more welcome warmth therein. It was far from unpleasant, entering from the cold into a humid tropical environment, albeit artificial, especially when we saw the gigantic and colourful tropical butterflies floating around. I was immediately transported back to Ecuador, as two huge and familiar butterflies I had encountered on a visit to that country last year, revealed themselves to me. They were a spectacular electric blue Morpho and a number of equally enormous Owl Butterflies.

Owl Butterfly

Tropical Butterflies

I confess I would have liked to have seen the Black throated Thrush closer and for longer but sometimes you have to accept that it will not happen as you hoped. Really there was just too much disturbance from the host of birders, plus, being a Saturday, families on a day out with their children did not help. The main thing was that I had seen the thrush perfectly adequately, so really I could not complain.

It transpired the thrush was not seen again on Saturday after we saw it by the engine shed but it was back on Sunday, this time frequenting an area around the Asian Elephant Enclosure. Presumably it will remain at the zoo until the berries run out so there may be another opportunity to try and see it closer before I go to Scotland for Christmas and New Year.

We will have to wait and see.