Ever get the feeling a theme is developing? After last week's (apparent) Spanish Wagtail - which seems to get better and better the more research and feedback it inspires (more on this soon) - I've been checking the marshy fringes of our modest but always promising little East Lea reserve pretty much daily (and indeed for many days before, but then seeing nothing makes for a less interesting narrative).
Scrutinising the changeover of Wagtails has been mighty entertaining, as it was on maybe my twentieth auto-scan of the far shore on the afternoon of 29th; amazingly, looking like an imposter in a Batman mask, a cracking male Grey-headed Wagtail M.f.thunbergi had materialised, strutting around nonchalantly in the company of a few male flavissimas.
While not quite as off-the-radar exotic as its Iberian predecessor, it's still a rare bird, with only one or two claimed annually in Yorkshire in recent years, and only one other record from Filey this century (in 2007). The bird was present again briefly yesterday (30th) but not today (1st), but with all of May still to come, it's a safe bet I'll be looking for the next continental flava with some relish....
