Country diary: why do birdwatchers prize the ring ouzel so much?

Wolf Edge, Staffordshire: This blackbird in disguise is scarce and getting scarcer - but that doesn't fully explain its addictive appealFor the tenth time this spring, I've come here to catch sight of migrating ring ouzels. I suspect that of all the species that trigger impassioned responses among birdwatchers, this is the bird least known to the British public. The simplest explanation for both these responses is that ring ouzels are wild, upland loners that are getting scarcer almost annually. Today, there are 15,000 spread thinly from northern Scotland to Cornwall. Writing 108 years ago, WH Hudson described finding 40 to 50 breeding pairs near this spot. Now, I doubt I could take you to more than one. Continue reading...