The Black throated Thrush revisited at Whipsnade Zoo 18th December 2019

I felt more than a little underwhelmed with both my views and images of the Black throated Thrush at Whipsnade Zoo last Saturday and, with its continuing presence at the zoo, I determined to return and try to see the thrush closer, for longer and achieve some half decent images of it.

The question was, when could I manage to go, and crucially would the weather co-operate? With Christmas looming ever closer and my impending departure with Mrs U on Thursday, for two weeks on the Isle of Arran, time was definitely at a premium. Monday and Tuesday were taken up with voluntary duties with MIND, so Wednesday was the only available day.

Fortunately the weather was predicted to be sunny on Wednesday, well sort of, and the wind, so chilling on Saturday would be less fierce and from a milder quarter.

I spoke to Mark, who also fancied a return visit so we agreed to meet at the Zoo when its doors opened at 10am. It was foggy when I left my home and even before I left our village there had been a  road accident by the local primary school, necessitating a detour into the wilds of Oxfordshire but eventually I got back on track and the rest of the hour long drive to Whipsnade was blessedly uneventful.

I arrived at the zoo just as the sun broke through the mist and paying my entrance fee made my way to Hullabazoo, the childen's play area based around a small, currently unoccupied pig pen and the now familiar large berry tree. I had hoped, being a weekday, there would be less of a scrum of birders than on Saturday but on rounding the corner, there before me were over fifty birders all pointing scopes, cameras and lenses of varying lengths at a twiggy bush to the right of the berry tree.

I joined the throng and found Mark in their midst, who pointed out the thrush, which was sat on a twig in the bush and reasonably visible. It was facing us and appeared as half black, namely its face, throat and breast, and half dull greyish white, this being the rest of its underparts. The yellow on its bill was also very noticeable.

It was as quick and easy as that to see the thrush and in marked contrast to my experience last Saturday. The thrush sat, immobile on its chosen twig for a few minutes but there was dissent in our ranks. Mark, never one to be afraid to venture an opinion suggested everyone was too close, so the thrush would not fly into the berry tree, and we should all move back. Of course no one took any notice and when someone else said the same thing he was ignored also.

So the thrush did not fly to the berry tree but instead flew onto the grass below the berry tree, joining a Blackbird and a couple of Redwings. Its behaviour on the ground was very similar to a Fieldfare as it progressed with bounding hops and head held erect, in between hops.Sadly it was soon disturbed from here by a couple of ordinary visitors and flew back into the twiggy bush. It remained here for some time before flying towards us and landing  behind us in the vacant pig pen whose fence we were all standing by. The thrush then proceeded to hunt for worms and invertebrates amongst the woodpiles, logs, mud and waterloggged grass of the pig pen. 

The Berry Tree -much favoured by the Black throated Thrush

The Pig Pen- another favourite feeding area for the Black throated Thrush

Everyone just about managed to control their desire to rush to surround the pig pen and clicked away with their cameras from a sensible distance, so presumably anyone who had a mind to got at least one half decent image. The thrush did not remain feeding in the pig pen for long but flew back to the bush it had originally been in and ascended to the top of it and then flew even higher to the very top of a large tree on one side of the pig pen before flying off towards the miniature railway sidings some six hundred metres or so distant, calling a series of high pitched, squeaky shree shree shree notes as it went.

This prompted a mass exit of birders towards the railway, us included, but when we got there the thrush was nowhere to be seen, just a few Redwings feeding on the grass under the trees. It seemed futile to remain here for long so we made our way back to Hullabazoo and got a coffee from the cafe there.

Redwing

Then, for some of us, it was back to stand by the pig pen fence and stake out the berry tree. Nothing happened for a while apart from some Redwings and Blackbirds flying in to feast on the berries but finally the Black throated Thrush flew in and landed in the pig pen once more. Now with less birders around it was more at ease and this allowed me to get some really nice images of it feeding on the ground and perched on the wooden fence surrounding the pig pen. It then flew from here to the berry tree and we made our way there to stand and hope it would come out from the centre of the tree and feed on the clusters of red berries. This would give everyone the chance to get the image they were really waiting for - the thrush and the berries in the same frame.

At first the bird was completely hidden by the foliage. Then you could see its tail and occasionally its bill but finally it popped out and unobstructed by foliage, facing us, perched on top of a cluster of red berries. It remained virtually immobile for what seemed an age as if it was not quite certain whether it was safe to commence feeding on the berries but finally it bent its head down to pluck a berry from the bunch. A fusillade of camera clicks recorded the moment. Every move of its head and plucking of a berry was faithfully recorded multiple times by everyone with a camera

By now every birder had made it back to the play area and a phalanx of fifty to sixty birders/photographers papped away at the thrush as it sat in the tree, gobbling berries. Really, one could not ask for more, although some with enormous lenses and expensive cameras were forever self critical but finally even they seemed to be  content with their efforts.

I certainly was and could not have asked for better views of the thrush or opportunities to take its picture. Eventually the object of our desire flew off back towards the railway sidings, calling loudly and we pursued it there but again to no avail.

In the end I decided that running around after the thrush was both a waste of time and energy and considered it was highly unlikely I would see it anywhere else but here by the berry tree and pig pen. So I mounted a vigil with a few others in the hope it would return but it never did.

No sign of the Black throated Thrush

However, standing and waiting was not an unpleasant way to while away the time as I chatted with Mark and other birding acquaintances such as Graham, Richard, Chris and Joan. The situation today, after the initial tense moments and bickering when I first arrived, was much more relaxed and friendly which in itself is a nicer aspect of twitching.You know you will always bump into someone familiar and possibly only see at events such as this, giving an opportunity to renew an acquaintance or friendship, have a good old natter and usually start dissing someone else's behaviour at a previous twitch, such is the nature of twitching folk. In general such criticisms are usually harmless, just gossip and rarely malicious.

By one in the afternoon the sun was becoming blurred by cloud and the light, which was never good, was now dull and flat. The wind had also begun to strengthen and that time had arrived when you just know there is no point in hanging on any longer. Even if the bird was to return I would not get better images than those I had obtained earlier in the morning.

I departed but not before visiting the Lynx Enclosure, something I had promised myself before I arrived at the zoo. I was not disappointed as a magnificent Lynx sat, regal and inscrutable on an elevated platform, regarding me, while another slept below in its den.

A final visit was made to the zoo shop for some last minute  minor Christmas presents and, before I left, the lady at the counter told me the arrival of the Black throated Thrush had been a godsend for the zoo as they had been so quiet. It is estimated that over six hundred birders have so far visited the zoo to see the thrush, bringing much welcome revenue to the zoo.

I said goodbye and headed home to Oxfordshire. 

Tomorrow we go to Arran.