A dank, wet and windy morning on Saturday soon put paid to our ringing with the sensible decision to close the nets taken unanimously after two hours and a retrapped wren. A Concensus was made to decamp to Bempton in order tosee the Red-flanked Bluetail that had taken up temporary residence beside the feeding station. This was merely a year tick for me having seen the corking 2007 bird in Old Fall at Flamborough but it would be a first BOU rare for will aged 9 and Graham, Will's dad. Graham had previously missed Bluetails on there breeding ground so this would be some form of catharsis. Fortunately the bird was showing like a gem at about 5m range when we arrived on low branches and then feeding in the leaves like its commoner red-breasted cousin. It was quite confiding but some dickheads decided they wanted to be at one with the bird and promptly flushed it deeeper in to the plantation when the started edging in. Why? Bloody photographers. BTW thanks for the shots Paul Reed. Also BTW he wasnt the flusher. We quickly moved on to look for the RB Shrike that has been a field or two north but it was sensibly hunkered down in the high winds. Graham had to get away to domestic bliss so I decided to truely abuse my pass out by seeing the Dusky warbler at North Landing. It'd be rude not too. My previous with this species involved a particularly skulky bird in Easington in 2007. All i saw was an eyestripe that went 'TACK' moving through the hedge. This bird as to prove a little better with out in the open views and soft calling. Radde's and Chiffy were duly eliminated and 3 or 4 brief views over a forty minute period pieced it all together. Im chuffed I went to see this educational bird. Back to the baby afterward though...
