5 hours for a 3 second reward! (14th September)

A full day dedicated to birding, not the best idea as I had to leave the following day for Uni.  However, there was a valid reason, I arrived at Purfleet by train at c.7:15am (the fact I took the train shows my desperation to get somewhere) and was at the Shooting Butts Hide at Rainham Marshes at about 7:30am.  As with many, it required a long long wait and only some time after 11 was the bird first called.  Only two people claimed to have seen it, however, with a hide full of other eager twitchers many where in doubt.  However, the person who first called it then miraculously refound the bird at about 12:40 and very soon I had set eyes on my first ever BAILLON'S CRAKE!  It was only a very brief view as it walked calmly and slowly behind a row of dead reeds.  Despite rubbish views, several others got on the bird (in fact perhaps over half the hide saw the bird) before it disappeared back into the reeds, not a surprise as those who hadn't yet seen it were shouting in desperation, waving hands, cries of "I've got it" and "is it to the left of that small mud patch behind the dead reeds" was more than enough to see the Crake scuttle off back into the safety of the reedbed not to be seen until much later in the evening, by which time I was already back home packing my bags.