Birding and other distractions

 I stayed overnight in Pembroke hoping to get a boat to Ramsey in the morning to try for Bay-breasted Warbler.  However, I found out via Birdguides that all the boats were full so wasn't sure where to go in the morning.  My mind was soon made up when news came through shortly after 9 a.m. that a Canada Warbler had been seen at St. Govan's Head by the same birder who found the Magnolia. Arriving at the site there were already about 100 birders present though the bird hadn't been seen for 25 minutes.  About half an hour later someone found it at the back of the sallows so we all stood inside the tree line to view the area.  The bird showed fleetingly in the next hour but I finally managed a reasonable view in a more open sallow where it was present in the upper branches. I stayed there until 2:30 and in that time had glimpses of the bird on three occasions and another more satisfactory view low down in a thicket. The journey home was a bit of a nightmare, arriving...

Having left home at 9:15 I didn't arrive at St. Govan's Head until seven hours later. Concerned that I'd only have a couple of hours in which to see the Magnolia Warbler I needn't have worried as luckily managed to see it within 10 minutes. It probably helped that there weren't so many birders there by that time so less disturbance. In the next two hours I saw the warbler another five times, the last two sightings being more prolonged views to enjoy the stunning little bird. On occasions it gave a distinctive call, helping to locate the bird which generally showed at close range though was constantly active. Picture by Nick Bristow

Driving back from Spurn today I headed to Thanet where an American Cliff Swallow had been found yesterday at Joss Bay. As I travelled down there were reports of it being seen well along the cliffs and nearby cabbage field.  Arriving at 3 p.m. there had been no sign of the bird for one and a half hours although House Martins and Sand Martins were present.   The swallow then flew briefly over the cabbage field before heading towards the golf course, so it was a relief to know it was still in the area. The bird returned at 4 p.m. and flew over the field for about five minutes giving reasonably good views. That proved to be the last acceptable sighting of the day, and rain set in within an hour. My only previous experience of Cliff Swallow in UK was 40 years ago on St.Mary's in October '83.

A quieter day so I went back to Sammy's Point to try for better views of the Red-flanked Bluetail. The bird was seen in the same general area of the third paddock feeding at the base of hawthorns. It was watched for about 10 minutes though mostly in deep shade which proved challenging for photography. Also seen in the third paddock was a Pied Flycatcher and female/juv Blackcap. Red-flanked Bluetail 

There were several Red-breasted Flycatcher in the area today, one of which I saw this morning in a garden opposite the observatory. Later in the day news broke of a Red-flanked Bluetail at Sammy's Point, a location I hadn't been to before. I managed several brief views of the bluetail, one of which in flight. Red-breasted Flycatcher 

The first day at Spurn started at Kilnsea Wetlands where the numerous waders were just starting to fly off after sitting out the high tide.  The Pectoral Sandpiper was still present being seen well from the screen. Other notable waders were two Curlew Sandpiper, two Ruff, and a Little Stint. Two Little Gulls obligingly flew in. There were many passerines in the hedgerow along the back of the scrape, which included Tree Sparrows, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, and Common Whitethroat. As I was leaving four Pink-footed Geese flew over. The rest of the day was fairly quiet except for  news at 3 p.m. of a Barred Warbler at Spurn Observatory. The last two hours were then spent trying to see the bird though only one brief view was obtained. Pectoral Sandpiper  Pectoral Sandpiper and Little Stint  Pectoral Sandpiper  Barred Warbler 

En route to Spurn today I took a long detour to South Gare in view of the continued presence of Brown Booby there. Arriving at 2 p.m. after a 5.5 hour journey the adult booby was fortunately seen immediately, sitting on its favoured green buoy in the mouth of the Tees. Visibility was not so great to start with though it gradually brightened up. After an hour and a half the booby flew down river to the Pilot's Pier, where it sat amongst some gulls and close views were obtained. Of other birds on the river the most notable were auks, especially Guillemot though also Razorbill. The sheer numbers were impressive, well over a thousand. A few Arctic Skuas were also seen, sometimes chasing Sandwich Terns. Adult Brown Booby  The green buoy  Pilot's Pier  Guillemot, this one possibly not so well.

About 30 years since I saw Aquatic Warbler in the UK so the bird at Upper Beeding was hard to resist. Now present for its fourth day it was on the east bank of the Adur. Arriving at 10 the bird had not been seen for an hour though I managed to see it fairly soon, briefly perched on some dead plant stems. Thereafter the bird was hidden amongst dense grass for much of the time, though it was sometimes possible to track its progress from the movement of vegetation. The pictures were taken when the warbler popped out and preened for about 30 seconds at fairly close range. Aquatic Warbler 

Arriving in the morning just prior to high tide there was already a good assemblage of waders on the east flood. The most numerous were Black-tailed Godwit though also good numbers of Redshank and around 100 Golden Plover. However, there were relatively few small waders, with c10 Dunlin also two Green Sandpiper. Two Spoonbill on one of the islands typically remained asleep. Walking towards Dan's Dock we observed a single Clouded Yellow on the inland side of the seawall, and which was very active in the warm conditions. At Dan's Dock two adult Grass Snake lying atop the weed barely moved for their audience of numerous young Marsh Frogs, seemingly in no immediate danger. Spoonbill  Golden Plover  Clouded Yellow  Grass Snake  Grass Snake  Marsh Frog

A walk with Pete in pleasantly warm weather albeit  quite humid and with spots of rain at one stage. We walked the circuit from Binney Road out to Stoke Lagoon then back along Yantlet Creek at high tide. It was fairly quiet until we got beyond Stoke Lagoon at which point the cronking of two Raven drew attention and a juvenile Marsh Harrier flew south over the marsh. Along the tidal section of Yantlet a Cattle Egret on the far bank flew across the creek after a few minutes to join two others amongst a small herd of cattle on the marsh. One of the egrets was still in summer plumage. Four Green Sandpiper flew out from close to the seawall while at the mouth of the creek approximately 40 Little Egrets made it a total of about 50 for the day. Cattle Egrets As above