I am not a twitcher - usually. That is a term, sometimes used derogatively, to describe those who chase after every rare bird sighting. I describe myself as an amateur wildlife photographer so getting a decent photo is more important to me than an actual sighting and it is aften not possible to get a good photo when surrounded by loads of others.

Anyway, on Sunday 7th August I was quietly relaxing on a sunbed in Gran Canaria (family holiday of course) when Birdguides sent though the message that a Cape Gull had been seen and formally identified at Grafham Water, only a dozen or so miles from my home, a site that I regularly visit. A Cape Gull? never heard of one but not surprising since it was the first to be identified in the UK, close to home, and me stuck on a sunbed nearly 2500 miles away. That is when the twitching started.

Anyway, we arrived back home in the early hours of Tuesday morning but I was not able to go that day but arrived at 9.00 on Wednesday morning with the bird still there, sitting on the railings near the pump tower.

So it is a Southern Hemisphere version of our Great Black-backed Gull and rarely seen in the Northern Hemisphere but why one should suddenly appear at Grafham Water is a mystery.

It didn't do very much at all until 10:50 when it flew off over to the other side of the reservoir.

I stayed until mid-day when it was getting very hot (one of the hotter days of the year). It returned to the railings later on that afternoon.

I returned with a friend the next morning to try to get better flight shots but it had done a runner and, so far, has not been seen again.

So am I a converted twitcher - definitely not!!!!

And now I can get working on the 2500 shots I took during three short visits to the local mere in Gran Canaria but more of that later.