After a quick glance at the road map and clumsy fumble with the old 'fat chav', I calculated that it would take around ninety minutes to reach the Cambridgeshire hamlet of Cambourne from Alvecote Pools. With a British lifer at stake it was a pretty easy decision to head east, especially considering that a handsome adult drake BAIKAL TEAL would also become my official BOU bird species of 2010.
After a quick call to Steve Richards we decided to meet up on site. As we raced along the A14 the news filtered through that we were both waiting for, the rare duck from the Far East was still present happily swimming around on Whomping Willow Lake with a few Eurasian Wigeon and Gadwall for company. This time though the bird was aged as a first winter male, adding a bit more weight to the proper vagrant argument. I smiled to myself and applied my foot to the accelerator with a touch more force. Just thirty minutes later as I just entered the village I received a call from Steve. From the tone of his voice I knew it was not going to be good. He then dropped the heart-breaking bombshell that the bird was a f*cking hybrid! I was that disgusted that I did not even pay the little web-footed freak a visit, I turned around and headed back along the A14.
Epilogue....
I did not fancy burning my retinas by viewing photographs of this vile individual, however rumour has it that it could well be a Eurasian Wigeon x Northern Pintail hybrid. Whatever it is, it just goes to show that CAMBRIDGESHIRE BIRDERZ ARE WACK! You got my back Smestow Gaz?
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