bluethroat wiki file
Have been dreaming of seeing this member of the Old World Muscicapidae (formerly placed with the thrushes) for over a year now, and last Thursday it happened. Went birding at the Bezinkingsputten in Tienen with my birdpal Cerintje. Saw lots of goodies and would've been satisfied even without a glimpse of the Bluethroat, but when it made an appearance it was a moment I'll never forget. Plus, being a discovery that we made on our own ... at a site that we were just getting to know ... made it all the more memorable and meaningful.
Our work was cut out for us. A month ago would've been much easier (like May 11 - mother's day!), w males perched more conspicuously and singing their hearts out to attract a mate and defend a territory. Now they weren't singing so much - they were getting down to business with nest-building and procreating. This would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Plus, in flight they don't look very different from other LBB's, or little brown birds, unless you get a good glimpse of their tail w its rust and black bands.
And then we saw some LBB's rummaging around in a tussock by a marsh. They seemed to be walking in and out of vegetation but always returning to the tussock with bits of vegetation in their beaks. First Cerintje saw the telltale tail, and then i saw the beautiful blue throat and obvious supercilium. For a minute I lost my breath - how often do you get to see one of these beautiful beasts, let alone watch a PAIR of them building a nest? The pleasure was doubled when a whitethroat showed up and tried to chase the bluethroats off - it was like a mini-soap being played out before our eyes. What a day, I tell you, what a day. I could live w/out food w birds like this ...
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