Slight Return?

The sight of a stripy sprite bouncing around a coastal hedge or Sycamore has been so frequent as to become expected on the east coast in September, but in the last couple of years, Yellow-browed Warblers seem to have declined massively. Last year was my first blank year in about 30 years, without a single sighting of this lovely species, a stark contrast to recent years where I have recorded double figures in a day. There have been a range of theories for the change in fortune, including extensive wild fires in the Russian breeding grounds, poor survival in the new wintering areas or a lack of easterly winds in September. Whatever the cause, they have been noticeable by their absence and many folk have lamented the disappearane. So, it is with some relief that this autumn there has been a slight return to former numbers, with good counts all along the east coast in the last week or so. The vanguard didn't linger, but were soon outgunned by multiple arrivals chivvied by a keen easterly straight out of the Urals. These birds sparkled amid the bushes and trees, flitting around with Red-breasted Flycatchers and other drift migrants. On Friday, the winds continued, so I headed out to Flamborough to join in the fun. A poor choice led me to seawatch and despite promising conditions, little was moving, save a handful of Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and a few skuas. With news from the outer head of Little Bunting and Red-breasted Flycatchers, I bid farewell to Brett and headed off in search of passerines. Arriving at Old Fall Hedge and a gorgeous trio of Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart and Whinchat fed together, dropping on hapless insects in the stubble at the foot of the hedge. And from nowhere, a surprisingly noisy Yellow-browed Warbler started yelling from the top of a nearby Hawthorn. There may in fact have been two birds as the noise was pretty startling, though I only saw one at a time. Lovely. A Red-breasted Flycatcher was hunting in the sycamores of the plantation, rattling away, but I only managed brief views. To complete the set, a Pied Flycatcher zipped in and more oblingingly, sat on a branch for a few minutes. Song Thrushes were coming 'in off' and a couple of Yellow Wagtails flew over. The Little Bunting failed to reappear and time was getting on. It felt like there was going to be a big bird today or this weekend, but I would be away down south with the family, so I had to be content with my stripy and rather noisy sprite.