Sunday 14 September 2008

~Hmm...

What an afternoon!! I got up at 3 after my night with the intention of catching some late aftenoon birds up at flam. Wife tells me Marcus (ebirder) has text saying there is a great snipe at flamborough. I ring and find out that i have missed the organised flushes. I get in contact with the boys on the ground (Lawts and Mike) who tell me about loads of common, potential for scarce including the most showy Little Stint in the entire world.

I land scoring some half decent shots of the stint being interupted by a phone call from mike - apparently Bay brambles was holding 3 Wrynecks - a much needed lifer (dont know how ive missed em before). When I got across I quickly get a couple of out of focus shots on the closer of the two that is showing and a good look at a better marked individual that is a bit further away. Then my phone goes again - Lawts who has slipped away is chasing a guy who has told him about a Booted Warbler near Old Fall. We peg up there and quickly get on the bird but no ID is nailed down (milky tea coloured small, slight hippolais with a weak bill, distinctly concolourous, pale below and light brown above, pumping its tail slowly and deliberatly occasionally (as opposed to the 2 garden warblers it was knocking about with)). Rumour circulates that it is an eastern olly or a garden warbler - it goes out on the info services as both but it was definitely not the common and may have been the rare - im not qualified enough to say so. Some images were taken by the guy who runs the Buckton Birder blog and hopefully the ID can be cleared up. Got some stick on BF from ppl not on the scene and they can stick it - It was not a Garden Warbler, that much I know. Some people going on 2 bird theory which works for me as there were in fact 3 birds in the hedge. At the twitch a few people were moaning that all they could see was garden warbler but this was due to the fog rolling in at 5.15 putting all the birds into the bottom of the rambles with only the odd tail or wing showing.

Naturally I will put my shots of the Wryneck and Stint up asap but it was too dark to shoot the warbler.

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