20231020 (31)_Purple_Martin
Old pre-digital photograph (still Canon DSLR though!) rephotographed. I had a sixteen month run without a tick resulting in a vow to get the next bird I needed whatever the cost... First for the Western Palaearctic Purple Martin on Lewis turned out to be the answer, involving an overnight drive to Inverness, flight to Stornoway and mad hire car dash to the site on 6 September 2004. Fortunately we were in time to see the Purple Martin on wires with Starlings: twenty minutes later it circled up and disappeared Southwards and a further twenty minutes after that the travellers by ferry arrrived. They were too crushed for us to gloat.
20231020 (31)_Purple_Martin
Old pre-digital photograph (still Canon DSLR though!) rephotographed. I had a sixteen month run without a tick resulting in a vow to get the next bird I needed whatever the cost... First for the Western Palaearctic Purple Martin on Lewis turned out to be the answer, involving an overnight drive to Inverness, flight to Stornoway and mad hire car dash to the site on 6 September 2004. Fortunately we were in time to see the Purple Martin on wires with Starlings: twenty minutes later it circled up and disappeared Southwards and a further twenty minutes after that the travellers by ferry arrrived. They were too crushed for us to gloat.