Pale-legged Leaf Warbler - Bempton Cliffs October 2024

A bird that had been present for a couple of days in terrible weather conditions at Bempton in East Yorkshire was eventually identified as a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler. After giving brief views, and initially thought to be either Eastern-crowned or Arctic Warbler, a sound recording of the bird clinched the ID - the sound recording with frequency above 5.5khz ruled out its relative Sakhalin Leaf Warbler. On the evening of 2nd October identification was confirmed, and the Bempton RSPB site braced itself for an onslaught of very early morning visitors the next morning.

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler is found in eastern China and North Korea and winters in the Malay peninsula, so is several thousand miles off track. This is only the third British record, with last one found dead on the Isles of Scilly in 2016, and the first present for only one day only at Portland, Dorset in 2012.

So it was a dawn visit to Bempton on Saturday 3rd October. As expected, arriving in the dark before 6am meant the car park was already almost full, and there were several lines of birders in place surrounding the bushes where the bird had been seen to go to roost the previous evening. Some even claimed to have it in the thermal images but it seemed to move around before dawn so was lost by the time some light started to emerge. However, after a short time it called and flew high into the trees briefly before descending back into the dense bushes. A big relief that it was still present, I didn't see it at that point, and it took a good hour before I managed to get anything like decent view of it. It was incredibly elusive, staying low to the ground and only occasionally moving higher up into view. It seemed to move between three preferred areas, hotly pursued by several hundred birders struggling to get a glimpse.

Over three hours I managed to get a few good views of the bird, but it was so mobile and elusive they were never for more than 30 seconds at a time.  Sometimes it was possible to follow it through the bushes for a while and its key features were easier to pick out.  I was only able to get the camera on it long enough to fire off a few shots a couple of times.

This really was a spectacular little bird and a pleasure to see so close to home.  It stayed several days longer but was gone by 3rd October.

Thanks for looking.

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in East Yorkshire - September 2024

With a run of easterly winds through the latter part of September it was only a matter of time until a mega was found, and it was an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler at Flamborough Head. I managed to get there on the Saturday afternoon before thick fog rolled in and the bird become harder to find.

Thanks for looking!

Hudsonian Godwit in Cheshire - August 2024

It took two attempts, but I managed to see the Hudsonian Godwit at Burton Mere on the Dee estuary in late August:

Early Scilly Pelagic - July 2024

During a July family holiday to the Isles of Scilly, I took a couple of pelagics out into the Atlantic to try and fill a gap in my seabird list - mainly Wilson's Storm Petrol.  Although it was a little early for the large numbers of Shearwaters, it would no doubt be an interesting experience.

The first trip was really productive, with a good number of European Storm Petrel and around 6 Wilson's coming to the slick.  They were present on and off for the couple of hours we were drifting.

Wilson's Storm Petrels

Of other interest were the Blue Sharks, three of which were caught, tagged and released during my two trips.

Blue Shark being tagged

The Shark tagged and released 

Apart from good numbers of Manx Shearwaters, the only other larger Shearwater was a Great Shearwater that came and had a look at the boat briefly on the way home.

Manx Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Bishop Rock Lighthouse on the return journey at dusk

Thanks for looking!

Bridled Tern in Northumberland - June 2024

A Bridled Tern was found by the wardens on Coquet Island in Northumberland at the beginning of June and I was keen to see this bird. It was being viewed distantly from the dunes near Amble, so I travelled up after work with the hope of seeing it before dusk.  However, after a lengthy drive it was disappointing to find the light not conducive to picking out individual tern species at over a mile distance across the sea. I realised I was going to have to stay over and try again in the morning.

It was a freezing night and I slept in the car for a few hours, but as it was mid summer it never really seemed to get dark and sleep was impossible.  I started again at 5am and spent a 4 hours trying to pick the bird out, but again with the sun behind the island all that was visible were hundreds of tern silhouettes. It was frustrating knowing I could probably see the Bridled Tern but couldn't pick it out.  To make it worse a couple of birders arrived and claimed to have picked it out after about ten minutes. 

Plan B was instigated and I booked onto one of the 'Puffin Specials' going out to the island around midday.  After a short crossing to the island, I was elated to see the term sat among the Puffins in exactly the spot I was looking at from the dunes.  

After a few minutes the bird flew up and made a few close passes of the boat before landing again, giving superb views.

Back on the mainland I was exhausted but happy to start the long journey home.

Thanks for looking.

Spectacular Indigo Bunting in County Durham - May 2024

A stunning male Indigo Bunting was found in a garden at Whitburn, County Durham in May.  After a nervous two hour drive north, the bird was still being seen, commuting from the finders garden feeders, next doors feeders and a nearby allotment.

There was a growing crowd of around 50 in a small road down the side of the house where it was originally seen. I hadn't been there long when the bird flew in to a nearby hedge.  The generous finder had opened his kitchen for viewing so I went inside on the assumption that the bird could be seen better from there. It briefly appeared and showed its stunning plumage before moving further away.

I later saw it on an ariel, viewed from the upstairs bedroom window, and next doors feeders. The bunting stuck around for a couple of days but became much more elusive.

Thanks for looking.

Collared Flycatcher at Spurn - May 2024

After an early morning drop-off at Potteric Carr in South Yorskhire I headed on towards North Cave for a mornings birding.  Just before pulling off the M62, news broke of a Collared Flycatcher trapped, ringed and released at Spurn. And it was a cracking male, one of my most wanted birds. I just kept driving with Kilnsea just over an hour away.

Although it had been seen since release, it hadn't been relocated for some time.  It also started to rain heavily, although this meant it probably wouldn't move too far.  After an hour it was refound along the hedge of a nearby field and was watched in the pouring rain for about an hour.

Following a visit to the cafe to dry out it stopped raining. Although never particularly close, the bird showed well for the rest of the afternoon.

Thanks for looking.

Marsh Sandpiper in Hampsire - April 2024

23rd April 2024. 

I managed to wangle a day off work after a Marsh Sandpiper had been present in Hampshire for a few days. Someone mentioned that this species was becoming less regular, with very few recent records, and a habit of not sticking very long. This made up my mind to give it a go, so an overnight journey found me on the south coast at Normandy Marsh.

I wasn't particularly confident of it being there, having been present for possibly up to five days previously (it was initially identified as a Greenshank).  At dawn around 5.30 am I wandered over to the Marsh with one other birder, but as it got lighter there was a lot noise from the busy lagoon but no sign of the Marsh Sandpiper.  I moved on to check another part of the lagoon but the bird couldn't be seen.  I then moved back to the original viewpoint overlooking its favoured spot, and there it was! 

The site was actually hosting a load of different migrant waders, so there was a lot for the increasing number of birders to look at.  Spring migrants included Curlew Sandpipers, Spotted Redshanks and Greenshanks.

Thanks for looking!

Bufflehead in Scotland

5th April 2024. For a number of reasons I'd missed previous recent UK Buffleheads, so decided to make a bit of a long journey to Loch Leven after a bird that had relocated from Ireland had been seen at a few sites in Scotland.  After moving north-east to Aberdeenshire, it had relocated further south in Perth and Kinross, and had been present for two days.

After an overnight drive through heavy rain I stopped east of Glasgow for a short sleep, and woke up to heavy snow! Luckily I had less than an hour to get to Lock Leven, so continued onwards and arrived at Loch Leven for dawn.

It seemed difficult to view the loch in the area the bird was reported, but after a while I found a spot to get to the shoreline and began scanning the water birds through the mist.  I soon picked out the Bufflehead with a small group of Goldeneye, and it showed really well for an hour.  Although initially quite distant, it gradually drifted a little closer, allowing for a few distant pics.

It was a relief to find the Bufflehead as it hadn't stayed long at any of the site in Scotland, and a couple of days later it was gone from Loch Leven.

Although not really on the way home, it seemed sensible to visit the Myrtle Warbler in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, west of Glasgow. It was a 90 minute drive but certainly worth it.  I've seen two other Myrtle Warblers in the UK so wouldn't usually have made the diversion.  However, after spending the winter being fed in the garden of a local birder, it was transforming into its spectacular summer plumage. Chasing other birds away, and calling constantly, it was showing really well and certainly worth the effort.

The nearctic warbler departed on 17th April after 58 days.

Thanks for looking.