I received the message at about 10.30 am yesterday. A White Wagtail at Ardyaloon Water Treatment plant. Broome to Ardyaloon is a mere 217 km. White Wagtail was a familiar bird in my English youth. I have over 80 records of the species from Iceland, continental Europe, the Russian far east, India and Japan but it was not on my Australian list. It doesn’t routinely occur here although vagrants do turn up from time to time. By 1 pm I was looking at it.
It was a busy bird, not easy to find as it meandered among rocks at the water’s edge. Gayle found it first. It was an Oz tick for her as well. Fortunately it didn’t fly before I saw it too. It was a lifer for the dog.
I might have got a better photograph if I wasn’t restrained by a chain link fence, but hey.
A number of subspecies have been described. This guy is a male Motacilla alba leucopsis. This subspecies breeds in China.
I have always enjoyed the thrill of adding a new species to a major list but this event really qualifies as my first twitch. During my working life I could not afford the luxury of dropping everything and rushing off to see a distant rarity. I hope to do it again soon.
bobmcgee 