Swarovski 80HD Nikon CP995

Location

Wryneck

Jynx torquilla 16.5cm

Wrynecks are a fairly rare migrant species in the UK. They are a small member of the woodpecker family, but they do not climb or drum, preferring to forage on the ground where they specialise in raking open ant hills.

The featured bird was at the centre of a small scale twitch at Gunstone, near Codsall in Staffordshire, where it was reported on August 26th 2002. I arrived on the 27th at around lunchtime and after leaving the site once without a sighting, I returned later to find an incredibly co-operative Wryneck, posing for several photographers, some as close as 5-6 feet from the bird.

I was truly amazed at how tolerant this bird was, and after being so co-operative, I just hope it wasn't overly harassed by all the attention.