Pallas's Sandgrouse in Finland

[Brian S]

Images of the Pallas's sandgrouse in Finland are on Tarsiger here http://www.tarsiger.com/images/Jniemi/syrpar10.jpg and here http://www.tarsiger.com/images/Jniemi/syrpar9.jpg

Ace bird and good photos

Brian S

[MichaelF]

What chance a big invasion of them this autumn?

Worst drought in Russia for decades, so who knows?

[Sherpa]

I packed in twitching 22 years ago, but even I might come out of retirement for one of those beauties.

Just think how many people it would attract at Cley on bank holiday weekend. Oh blimey, that's why I packed it in in the first place. Think I'll go to Mongolia instead....

[Russ Heselden]

I'm off to Ecuador for two weeks, starting tomorrow. If one of these DOES turn up at Cley in the next fortnight, can someone peg it to the ground until I get back?

:laugh:
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Suzuki GN125 (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Suzuki_GN125)

[LeeEvans]

With huge numbers recorded in Kazakhstan this June, Pallas's Sandgrouse was always on the cards further west this autumn. The last invasion of this species in Britain was as far back as 1908, with sporadic influxes before that peaking in 1863 and 1888. Interestingly though, in these previous incursions, arrivals took place from mid May and continued throughout the spring period until early July. There does not seem to be much evidence of movements later in the year, so unless there has been a bumper breeding season following their displacement, this could turn out to be the only one to make landfall west of the Russian border. With that in mind, now might be the best time to make a visit to this highly twitchable individual.......

[forktail]

It would certainly get me moving - I went far enough for my first!

They used to occur on our village beach during irruptions. I'm always hoping to see a couple coast over the sand dunes.

can't see it happening though...

[mafting]

They nested within walking distance of my old patch during one irruption (two pairs laid eggs). Never mind Spoonbills, imagine that!

I think the population is a fraction of what it was back in those days, isn't it? Now most of the steppes are farmed?