Being up a mountain miles away with little phone reception is not the best place to be when you get news of a mega bird at your local reserve.  Nor for that matter is being stuck in your office while your car’s being repaired at the garage, but that’s what we both faced today when the news came out that a Bearded Tit (Reedling) had been seen at RSPB Conwy.  Alan and Rob Sandham were busy doing some survey work not far from Aberystwyth, over two hours away, when he got the text to say the bird was showing well right beside the Benarth Hide.  Ruth was a bit nearer, working at her office in Conwy town, while her car was nearer still, albeit being MOT’d in the garage when Alan shared the news.  Luckily, the car had passed its MOT with flying colours in the time Ruth jogged the mile to the garage and she headed to RSPB Conwy as fast as possible.  Passing Alex and Colin on the track, Ruth borrowed a pair of the Reserve’s bins and joined the group watching a reedbed intently.  Apparently the bird had originally shown well, and close to, but hadn’t been seen now for some ten minutes.  Everyone scanned and scanned again, but there was no sign of the Bearded Tit, though a Sedge Warbler provided a scratchy soundtrack.  As the lunchtime clock ticked by at double speed, gradually people left to go back to work.  Just five minutes more, just two minutes more, Ruth was already late.  But then just as she was about to leave, there was a sudden sharp, pinging call came from the reedbed and a handsome male Bearded Tit hopped up into full view on a close-by reed.  It’s back, she whispered hoarsely, and the rest of the group focused in quick on the bird.  The black moustachioed little stunner hopped his way up the reed right to the top and showed off his vivid blue-grey head while his almost-ginger body glowed in the sunshine, not only a great bird for the area, but a strikingly beautiful one too. Why Bearded Tit?  Surely Moustached Tit would be more appropriate with those Mexican-style facial markings.  The bird dropped down amongst the reeds and then hopped his way up another reed right to the tip as it swayed in the breeze, before disappearing out of view again.  It became clear that he wasn’t going to show again straight away, so Ruth returned her borrowed bins and headed back to the chaos of her desk, though not before she had sent a quick text to Alan: “Bearded Tit UTB!”  Who says birding is a gentle past-time - gripping him off just added to the bird’s attraction!Earlier, on a mountain in deepest mid-Wales, Alan and Rob had sweated and toiled to the summit and were now engrossed in scanning the upland habitat for any bird that moved. Problem was, the area was just about devoid of birds. A couple of Carrion Crows, Meadow Pipits and a solitary singing Skylark were about it.  After a long spell, they picked out a fine male Red Grouse, apparently also surveying the area as he stood on a hillock scanning left, then right for some 40 minutes. Remarkably even here in the wilds, there was a mobile phone signal, a text message buzzed its arrival and the guys could not believe the message: “Male Bearded Tit Conwy RSPB Reserve now!”  This was a must-see bird for any North Wales birder, as the last record was, well, when? A long time ago, that’s for sure. It was a little embarrassing for Alan to admit to Rob that his only previous sighting in North Wales was before Rob was even born!  There was no ways the guys could abandon their survey, so all they could do was pass on the amazing news to as many other birders as possible.  Ruth of course was top of the list, and Alan and Rob both dreaded the thought that she and all their birding friends would score with this amazing bird while they sat watching Meadow Pipits.  Would the Bearded Tit stay? Time dragged but at last the survey was complete and the two headed downhill at high speed and leapt into the car to head north.  As they drove, they came back into mobile reception and received a deluge of messages reporting the Bearded Tit showing, and yes Ruth had indeed gripped them off.
Reaching the reserve early evening, the news was not good.  No-one had seen the bird for over an hour and a half. Worse still, many people in the afternoon had even managed to see two Bearded Tits, a male and a female, just adding insult to injury. As the bird had not been seen for so long, Alan and Rob decided on a change of tactic. Instead of sitting in the hide with the others, they decided to strike out for the far side of the reserve where they’d be able to look back at the reedbed – a bit more distant, but they’d have a larger area of reed in view.  After 20 minutes or so of fruitless scanning, it seemed their idea was not a good one.  Then suddenly, Rob exclaimed “I’ve got it!” and there was the male Bearded Tit in all his glory, climbing up a swaying frond.  Huge relief and high-fives all round, as the two surveyors degripped their fellow birders, and most importantly of course, got the bird back on Ruth!