All photos - Filey Yellow-browed Warblers and Flamborough Red-breasted Flycatchers (unless otherwise stated)
With heavy rain whipping through on a brisk easterly, the maps looked promising; it was all about whether the rain would actually stop at all, which looked less so. But I headed to the coast early on regardless, arriving on Carr Naze at Filey in the midst of a deluge.
But, as hoped, before long the rain eased, and it was game on. As many longer-term readers will know, I have a deep love of Carr Naze and the possibilities it provides before birds quickly filter off the peninsula and into nearby cover, and - as usual, without another birder in sight (or indeed dogwalker, such were the conditions) - I had a 45 minute window of peace to comb the plateau and slopes.
It was very much quality not quantity, with the first two birds (outside of Meadow Pipits) both being Yellow-browed Warblers, zipping around together in and near the magic bush - a joyous start to the day's birding. On the sea, wildfowl were on the move, with Wigeon, Teal and Scoter over the waves, while on dry (wet) land, a Blackcap, continental Robins and a very damp Chiffchaff followed....
... before two Sylvias stole the show. The first was a Barred Warbler - not skulking and elusive, as they usually are, but a powerful, lumbering, close-up fly-by, as it flew along Carr Naze and right past me, looking me straight in the eye as it did so. The second was altogether more settled - an eastern-type Lesser Whitethroat (below), bedraggled and feeding up voraciously in the clifftop grasses.
The rain then became heavier, until it turned into another extended deluge - but not before a third Yellow-brow appeared in the grass by the path, clearly having just dropped in, ultra-tame and avidly hoovering up crane flies (and ignoring me completely). Another classic session on one of my favourite places, and more than justifying the journey.
Thankfully the rain held off for much of the day, and further patrols of the Country Park area produced three more Yellow-brows, more Robins, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, a Merlin, a Jack Snipe in off, and a few Swallows and Siskins moving. An afternoon session at nearby Muston Sands was quiet but for (you guessed it) another vocal Yellow-browed Warbler, making it seven for the day in a small stretch of the coastal strip.
Again overnighting at the old man's in Flamborough, for yesterday (24th), I opted for the northern side of the headland for my morning's birding. A circuit of the Thornwick area was pleasurable but reasonably quiet, highlights being two Pied Flys (one on the clifftop), a Tree Pipit (skulking like a much rarer cousin...), a smattering of Goldcrests, a Yellow-browed Warbler, and an early Ring Ouzel (my first of the season).
With expectations slightly lowered, I called in at nearby Holmes Gut, a scrubby, sheltered ravine near North Landing. With the wind still blowing, it was clearly holding birds from the off, with lots of activity within a few minutes; time to settle in and see what might pop out.
The answer to which was a lot. Within about twenty minutes, in no particular order, I'd a Dusky Warbler, three Red-breasted Flycatchers and two Yellow-browed Warblers all calling regularly and seemingly in reaction to each other, like a mixtape of scarce target species - a joy! Very close views of the Dusky (camera-evading) and Flycatchers (camera-loving) followed, and I had the pleasure of soaking up this little corner of scarce before eventually heading back for lunch.
With a couple of hours in the afternoon to kill before an evening's nocturnal survey work on the Humber, I opted for Bempton (good fun, this coastal Bingo), where a brief shower on arrival held a little promise - and soon delivered, when a flash of bright green and lemon-yellow turned out to be a slightly heartbeat-skipping Wood Warbler (above); not what i was expecting, but very welcome, as was another eastern-type Lesser Whitethroat (below) nearby.
A hugely enjoyable couple of days birding in some of my favourite spots, with lots of quality birds and relaxed, peaceful opportunities. Perfect.
