1977 was a good year for me birding wise. Not only did I tick my 1st Franklins Gull in the November of that year - see here but a month later a Sociable Plover (or Lapwing) was discoverd on Christmas Day associating with Lapwings along the Stour water meadows between Little Cornard and Great Henny close to where we lived. It was quite elusive but showed well when it was located with its Lapwing compatriots.
This bird constituted only the 18th UK record since the first was shot in Lancashire in 1860. It's still a rare bird with only 43 British records to date. Increasingly rare in their normal range they've become very scarce in recent years with hunting pressures and changes to agricultural practise in their breeding and wintering grounds having a detrimental effect.
They're a bird of the dry steppes of Central Asia and SW Siberia wintering in NE Africa, Syria, Iraq and India. They are a stunningly beautiful, and unmistakable bird, in flight showing a wing pattern reminiscent of a Sabines Gull.
Being Christmas there was no way I could go soon and I had to wait until the 28th December before I could go. With dad busy with the rest of the family I couldn't get a lift so I set off on the 12 mile journey in bitterly cold weather on my bike.
I can't remember much about the wait. Only that I stood in freezing weather by myself peering hopefully cross the water meadows across the other bank of the River Stour. Remember there were no pagers or mobile phones in 1977 and I hadn't a clue where the bird might be.
A few other birders raced in to the pub car park and came running across to where I stood announcing they'd been watching it further upstream and that it had taken of with the Lapwings and was heading our way.
A nervous wait and the shout went up that someone had got it in flight with the Lapwings. Relief tempered with momentary panic as I tried to get on it. Eventually I did and watched as the flock circled round before landing to feed in the fields opposite. Luckily the older birders all had 'scopes and allowed me to view it through them.
My friend Nick, who'd taken me to the Franklins Gull, was entertaining guests but said if the bird turned up to ring him and he'd rush down. Cold hands and chattering teeth made dialling his number and relaying the message from the local phonebox was difficult but eventually I got through and 30 minutes later he, Gwen and his guests all arrived.
By now it had started sleeting and I was getting close to hyperthermic - despite having layers of winter clothing on. I took shelter in the phonebox and rang home where I think my chattering teeth made dad take pity on me and come to collect me and my bike which we managed to squeeze into his Saab estate with hall the seats down. So ended my 1st solo twitch!
Since then I've only seen one more Sociable Plover and that was the juvenile bird at Rainham Marshes in December 2005 during our 'big year'. Again it was associating with Lapwings on a bitterly cold day but this time I had the warmth of the late Pod's (Pete Antrobus) car to retire to.
Despite searching on line I can't find any photos of that 1977 Suffolk bird. The only record I can find is an extract from the British Birds latest sightings pages from the march edition of the journal in 1978:
Christmas presents
The report of a Sociable Plover Chettusia
gregaria near a public house at Sudbury
(Suffolk) on Christmas Day was probably
treated with some caution at first, but
proved to be quite genuine
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