Another Mudgee twitch

It's not too often that a crippling rarity shows up within striking range of home so when they do you have to move. A couple of weeks back a Citrine Wagtail was spotted in a small wetland in Mudgee becoming only the fourth Australian record and only the third for the mainland. Mudgee is about a 4 hour drive from Sydney and so Paul and I headed over there for the day.

Putta Bucca wetlands, Mudgee

We arrived at the wetlands as other twitchers from all over Australia were turning up coming from as far away as Broome and Bundaberg. Being mid-week there weren't hordes but about a dozen of us made it in the end. As we arrived at the site the Citrine Wagtail #449 was just sitting out in the open on a stick in the water. One of the easier twitches I've been on.

Citrine Wagtail

After a few minutes an Australian Spotted Crake #450 came skulking out of the reeds before spotting the crowd and running away again. Bonus!