With easterly winds forecast I headed to Spurn for a full day on October 21st, getting there at dawn with the intention of a couple of hours sea-watching and then just to wander around the Spurn area and see what could be found. It was an eventful morning, although there were very few sea birds, and the hoped for Leach's Petrel didn't materialise. The best bird was a Hen Harrier drifting south out at sea!
However, other raptors starting to move in off the sea, with a couple of Short-eared Owls and a nice Rough-legged Buzzard soon in the area.
A lovely Red-flanked Bluetail was (re)caught in the nets along with a Twite in Church Fields
Other arrivals included a Waxwing, but that couldn't be found so I headed on to Beacon Ponds, where the American Wigeon and Long-tailed Duck were easy to pick up.
American Wigeon
After wandering back to the Spurn triangle I was contemplating heading home, when news emerged of an interesting Bunting found further north at Flamborough Head. It was described as either Black-headed or (less likely) Red-headed Bunting. As I had seen neither I decided it was worth the drive up there to attempt to see the bird before the end of the day. It was going to be a race against time as it was already mid-afternoon and the light would soon start to go. It took a good 90 minutes to get to Flamborough; there is no quick route from Spurn other than to follow the coast.
I arrived and soon realised I was at the wrong car park. At this point I almost gave up as the light was already starting to go, but I persisted and relocated to the North Landing car park, but surprisingly there were no birders present to ask directions. I had a rough idea of where it was so set off running along the coast path as the sun was descending quickly. I estimated I had about 40 minutes of light and it would take about 25 minutes to get there. I was aware I wouldn't be able to return the next day, or in fact for the next week, so that gave me added reason to get to it that evening. I passed two small groups who were returning and they pointed me in the right direction. I suspect they thought I had no chance of seeing it.
After leaving the main path and heading along the side of a field, I was relieved to see two birders still present in the distance, and after a lot of pointing and a few falls down muddy banks and through barbed wire I was in the right place and looking at the Bunting. Despite being a sweaty mess, it was certainly worth the effort. With only three people present the bird was relatively relaxed and gave superb views, and for a few minutes the setting sun shone right on the bird providing enough light for some decent shots. I managed to take some photos which were widely distributed that evening and, despite the bird being in heavy moult, several features pointed towards it being a possible Red-headed Bunting.
Over the next few days not surprisingly the bird proved very popular as it had the potential of being a mega rarity. DNA was collected and a few weeks later the bird was subsequently confirmed as a Red-headed Bunting, a first-winter male, and if accepted will probably be the second for Britain, following the re-assessment of one a decade earlier on Out Skerries, Shetland.
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