The successful Bittern twitch lifted my spirits that recently had been in a bit of a dip-ression, having missed a number of good birds this autumn. Last weekend was a case in point, when I dipped Pallas's Warbler, Firecrest and Pallid Swift on Flamborough Headland, despite putting in a lot of effort. A Siberian Chiffchaff and two Yellow-browed Warblers were great, but didn't really do much to cheer me up.
The Pallid Swift dip had been particularly frustrating. I was down the Motorway Hedge on the Outer Head when news came through of a Common Swift at nearby Bempton. I chatted with Brett Richards about the bird, commenting that surely a Pallid was more likely this late on, but given the Birdguides news was of a Common, I thought that perhaps it had been photographed and identified as such. As it turned out, photos appeared on the Whatsapp group and it was clearly an alien-eyed Pallid after all. Having not managed to see much on the Outer Head, I shot over to Bempton, and missed the swift by minutes. I gave it a good while, but with my departure back to York already overdue, I had to leave empty handed. Within five minutes, the news came through that Johnny Mac had picked the bird up again, feeding over the RAF buildings. I u-turned on the Brid road and gunned the car (which by now was probably very confused) back to Bempton. Again, I missed the bird by a few moments, and after a prolonged scan, decided it was not to be and headed home, feeling a bit sorry for myself. It felt like I had been making too many wrong decisions and this was costing me birds! Time for some soul searching...
Anyway, back to today. After enjoying my brief but obscured Bittern, I went east to Flamborough. South Landing seemed a good bet, so I wandered along the top of the ravine in the hope of seeing one of the recent Dusky Warblers that has been hanging out. Nothing was happening in the picnic area, where one had been reported first thing, though several birders were hanging out on the off chance it would reappear. As this area was being well covered, I thought I'd wander away to Highcliffe Manor, where Johnny had seen another bird the previous afternoon. To my delight, as I neared the corner at the end of the path, I heard the distinctive tongue-clicking call of a Dusky. It was in the bushes next to a small ornanamental pond, but frustratingly out of sight. Fortunately, it called frequently, and after a few minutes I got a brief glimpse, before it flew from the pond, across the lawn and into some sea buckthorn bushes, where it disappeared once again. It was still calling, and shortly it flew again, but this time into the hedge by the path. I slowly walked back towards the Whale Bridge and sure enough, the Dusky was right in front of me, feeding in the sycamores.
Feeding above head height, it jumped around the yellowing sycamore leaves, grabbing an insect or two, calling continually. I managed a bit of video and a few pics, easily the best ones I have ever got of this usually-skulking species. To my surprise, it moved quite high into the trees, seeking insects among the leaves.
All the previous Dusky Warblers I have seen have been more or less at knee height, so this was strange, but fab, as it gave great views. After a bit it suddenly flew over the Whale Bridge and towards the picnic site, the last I would see of this little Sibe.
I headed on round the landing, down the steps and back up to the car park, adding three Chiffchaffs, 14 Siskins and a Brambling to the tally. An impressive dark front of clouds lay across the sky to the north, and a big pile of Fieldfares came in from the east, presumably having just arrived ahead of the worsening weather. I decided to go to the Outer Head to see if anything else was arriving. Sure enough, two Woodcocks came in at Bay Brambles, along with more Fieldfares and a few Blackbirds and Redwings. With a tip off from Johnny, I trundled down to the fog station and found a gorgeous flurry of Snow Buntings, feeding on grass seeds along the path to the seawatch obs. I sat down and the flock gradually made its way towards me munching as they went. The lead bird approached to within a couple of metres, completely unconcerned by me, though it did look at me inquisitively when it heard the Camera shutter. Some tourists came along and flushed the birds, so I decided to leave the to their seeds and head home, birding mojo definitely on the mend.
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