Worshipping with the REV

October has got off to an excellent start and this morning I made a pilgrimage to see the second Red-eyed Vireo for Yorkshire, a mere 29 years after the first. Yesterday I was wrapped up in family stuff as my wife was out with friends so it wasn't a goer and I feared I had missed my opportunity but in the pouring rain this morning the good news about the bird being present came out and I readied the troops. Much bribery and suitable charging of the kids tablets meant they were content to stay dry in the car whilst I went looking for this moss-green yank delight. 

My first REV was in August, on migration at Lucky Hammock in Florida and I considered twitching the Church Cove one in Cornwall a couple of weeks ago only for time/distance/cost to come into play and I decided to look for other stuff instead. Back to today and in driving rain I wandered along Vicar's Lane (there is a theme I'm sure but I just can't put it together). The crowd numbered almost 15 hardy souls in the stair-rods. Amongst them were John Sadler and Peter Williams who had already seen it and reassured me that it would reappear every quarter of an hour or so to drop into a berry-laden ornamental bush by the entrance to the car park by the gas station. They drifted away and time ticked by, almost 20 minutes of getting soggy and then birds started to move through the trees. First a Blackcap, then a Blackbird before a Song Thrush and then finally another Sylvia sized bird. This however was no Garden Warbler but a North American beauty. It dropped hesitantly through the canopy giving great views before alighting on the final branch above the ornamental bush. It was maybe ten or fifteen seconds but easily long enough to get some photos off in difficult conditions. It then fed in the bush for a couple of minutes before lifting off and disappearing into the willows. At this point, very satisified with what I had seen I congratulated Steve Lawton and Andy Malley who were also amongst the small congregation before heading back to the girls, happy to tell them their sacrifice was worth it.