More from last week, and our four-day guiding trip in the Spurn / Kilnsea / Humber area...
did we want to swing by the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler at Bempton on our way down the coast, and did I want to leave the car at home for the duration? was an offer I couldn't refuse from young Mr Baines, and so off we headed in the pre-dawn half-light....
... not expecting much (except, well, a good few other hopeful early risers on site), a couple of hours later and we'd had great views, dealt with the circumstances with good humour (unlikely if I was there on my own, which I likely wouldn't have been), and maintained our annual one-twitch-a-year success rate at a heady 100%.
A great bird which I was quietly keen to catch up with, especially for research purposes (visual and aural); it's been a long time since I've seen one - actually 12 years, in the Thai forests - and really glad we made the effort.
Down at Spurn, meanwhile, and a significantly less rare but just as alluring
Phylloscopus cousin - an Arctic Warbler - was present in the bushes by the Discovery Centre while we were there; conditions were challenging to say the least, but a quick break on the final day coincided with the bird feeding effectively at our feet, low down (and even on the ground) and barely a couple of metres away, unperturbed.....
I've never had decent views of Arctic Warbler in the UK (having not gone out of my way to twitch one, and still waiting to find one..), and these were, well, outrageously good. Two more great birds from an already great autumn.
All above pics - Arctic Warbler; all below - Pale-legged Leaf Warbler
