EVERYONE was telling me about the glossy ibis that seems to have taken a liking to the RSPB reserve at Greylake, so I decided that a quick visit was in order. Isn't it strange when luck seems to be on your side? When my partner and I arrived at the car park we could see several people on the beginning of the board walk with all sorts of optics and cameras, and there it was, only about twenty-five yards in front of us and not taking a shred of notice of the watchers. Our luck became apparent when one chap said he had been waiting over an hour and a half to see the bird.

There just could not be a better sighting of a glossy ibis than that. Despite being somewhat into the bright sun, the bird was so near that binoculars were not essential, although through the glasses every feather and the bronze sheen of the bird stood out spectacularly.

We were even treated to a superb aerial display as the ibis suddenly, and to everyone's alarm, jumped into the air and gradually climbed until it was a small speck in the distant sky before wheeling around several times and then drifting in to alight almost on the very same spot, to the accompaniment of the sounds of continuous camera shutters.

At the moment, I think there are something like twenty glossy ibis in the country - are they to be the next little egret? Can we expect to hear of them breeding here? It certainly seems to lend weight to the theory of bird movements to the north as a result of global warming.

In the Old World, the glossy ibis population, until the eighties, was restricted to Turkey and eastwards through the Middle East with outposts in Georgia and other parts of the then USSR.

Other populations exist in India, and Tailand and through to Australia, as well as in the New World with large numbers in the USA.

But then, as with so many birds, numbers began to drift westwards and further north, so that today, although it is such a wonderful thing to see, people are not so amazed as they would have been just those few short years ago.

What a great bird. All dark purply-brown, lighter on the back and with a green iridescence that gives it its name. The bill has the typical long downcurved ibis shape, and the shortish legs are a brownish-grey.

Here's hoping it won't be long before the glossy ibis visits us on a regular basis.

Diary date: Saturday, November 24. Cheddar Reservoir and Chew Valley. Meet at car park, map ref ST446535, 10am. Led by Charles Quinn (Taunton 326168).