Those gods had been kind, especially the day before, with a fluffy Arctic snowball dropping in before me on Carr Naze; and they promised more, with the easterly airflow holding firm overnight and beyond.
After the redpoll (a welcome harbinger), my plan was simple - stick to focused, steady patrols of the northern coastal area at Filey, and keep the faith. (It's worked for the last fifteen years or so, so it was a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it).
The wizened peninsula of Carr Naze and its weedy plateau are more often than not the centre of my attentions during such times, augmented with regular checks of Top Scrub, North Cliff, the Rocket Pole Field, Long Lane, Arndale and Church Ravine: all within a small, easily walkable area, and each one the venue of multiple rarity self-finds over the years (and thus fuelled by happy memories and plenty of inspiration).
A word on the wider picture this week: those prayed-for easterlies have delivered many a rarity and scarcity along the coast between Yorkshire and Suffolk, with legendary hotspots like Spurn absolutely chocful of killers; wonderful stuff, and while I fully understand why birders gravitate to those honeypots, my instinct is and always has been the same - to get out and find my own birds.
For no particular reason or ethos, I have at best limited, and usually zero, interest in twitching other people's birds; by no means a judgement on those that do, but simply a reflection of what gets my pulse racing. I appreciate it's not everyone's bag, but for me, the thrill of the self-find is unparalleled.
Alright, so back to the birding. I (and comrades birding neighbouring coastal sites) had high hopes for the morning of the 4th, with those easterlies, combined with low cloud, promising much. Again driving the A64 in the dark and arriving at Filey for first light, those first few hours were muted at best; despite forensic sweeps, very few new arrivals were either grounded or incoming, and as the morning passed it looked as though it may have been somewhat of a false dawn.
As midday approached, I arrived at the seaward end of Top Scrub for another patrol. Birds were beginning to arrive elsewhere on the coast, and so there was no question of losing focus, and (joining my friend Linda and her dad), just like that, it was def con one - having tantalisingly disappeared into the deep scrub, after a couple of minutes it returned nearby (nice one Linda!), right in front of us, a beautiful, sandy-toned, red-tailed, anime-eyed Daurian (type) Shrike....
Scarcely believable in its tameness and disregard for our presence, we watched it pursuing various insect prey just a few metres away, disappearing for a while into the depths of the scrub but always reappearing along the sheltered edge before us. Incredible - such as special bird - I mean, aren't all shrikes, but just look at it - performing beautifully for us, in a spot I've spent so many hours scrutinising (with plenty of success, although not to this extent....).
Game on, and then some.... After more fabulous views, and then putting the news out, I took a long breath to enjoy the situation, bade a celebratory farewell to Linda and her dad, and, after checking the latest rarity updates on my phone, made a singular decision.
Spoiler alert - there's a part two, to follow shortly - and if you like vicariously enjoying this whole self-find thing, it's worth tuning in....
(This bench needs a new plaque)
