Tufted Puffin in England

By Corey • September 20, 2009 • 1 comment

How an alcid from the Pacific Ocean ended up north Kent, at a nature reserve known as Oare Marshes to be exact, might never be known, but birders, to use a regretfully common description, are “flocking” to see the rarity. The finder of the bird, Murray Wright, who of course has now launched a thousand twitches, was twitching himself a bit. His description of finding the bird is as follows: “The ID wasn’t a problem. Panic then ensued, but I managed to take a few record shots, despite shaking uncontrollably. I still am.” The Independent has the story.

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About the Author

Corey

Corey is a lifelong upstate New Yorker who recently took the plunge and moved to the city. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list and broke the magical 300 barrier in New York State in 2007 by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative. He lives near Forest Park in Queens with Daisy, their son, Desmond, and their two indoor cats, Hunter and B.B.

One Response to “Tufted Puffin in England”

Jochen Sep 21st, 2009 at 7:59 am

Corey, can you believe it??
There I was , last week, strolling along the river Neckar in Heidelberg when all of a sudden, a largish alcid made an appearance. I first thought it was an Atlantic Puffin but soon realized it was a Tufted Puffin!!! Amazing, a first for Germany and only the second European record ever!! Luckily, as I was shaking, I managed a few decent pictures.

Hey, wait a minute, some UK birder stole my pictures and claims them as his own, taken in Kent!! No wonder the Brits can’t relocate it.

Sigh.
I SO wish this was true…

Asides

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