At 5.30pm tonight (17 October), Warren Claydon found a LAPLAND BUNTING at Lodge Hill Farm in an adjoining stubble field. I was watching one of the goals of the season, so trying to listen to directions as I was jumping up and down was not that easy. Eventually Rose and I managed to get there to see Warren kneeling down on a footpath at the edge of the field; we scanned at a distance and could not locate the bird, until we realised it was feeding in the stubble about 10 feet from us! Stunning views and no camera.
We crept along just about on our hands and knees until we met up with Warren to listen to his story. We watched it for about 10 minutes until it slowly walked further away and the light faded. He had flushed a bird earlier in the afternoon as he had walked the footpath which he thought was a Lapper but when he went back later, it was flushed again a couple of feet from the footpath; Warren did not hear it call; he had watched it for about 45 minutes and it had remained in the same area.
Directions; park at SU 803 983 on Haw Lane ( room for 3 cars ) and walk NW along the footpath/ private road until you get to the farm; turn left and after you have gone through metal kissing gates and past three very noisy dogs, turn left and up the footpath by the edge of the stubble (Mike Collard)
The bird was still present on Monday morning, showing down to just a few feet. It was a first-winter female and had a mite infestation giving it some discomfort around the eyes. It remained until late morning but was then lost (Lee Evans)
This is an account of the personal observations of Lee G R Evans (LGRE) in his home county of Buckinghamshire. It also hosts all sightings of interest within the county but only those considered authentic by the author. I am extremely grateful for any images of local birds as well as of any information relating to birds within the boundaries - contact me anytime on 07881 906629 or email LGREUK400@aol.com.