9th October:
Sunday started off as a quiet day, lounging about doing
nothing, watching telly and contemplating continuing with Saturday’s work on
the car. Lunch was in the making when Wander rang. The news was not good; a Pechora Pipit had
been found at Filey in North Yorkshire. Perhaps ‘found’ is not the appropriate word
for the little bugger had been present for three days as a Red-throated Pipit.
So much for modern identification techniques [Eds: harsh…]
The problem arising from such a great find was that I was
carless until Russell got home. Chaos ensued as I attempted to find some poor
soul to head on a twitch northwards. I had just resigned myself to not going
when Russell pulled up outside. Hopes raised again I quickly phoned Tony and
Kettle and arranged over the car phone [Eds: not sure which of the lads had one
of these but I think it was Tony!] to rendezvous at the first service station
on the A14 west of Cambridge. The journey took my about 50 minutes and I arrived
shortly after the others. A quick car change and we were off again.
The journey up was a bit hairy in places [Eds: I can vividly
remember the energetic overtaking on the A64 from York…] but by 5pm we were at Fiely in
the company of well over 300 other birders. A very large circle had been formed
around the grass the Pechora was frequenting and patience was required before
any remotely satisfactory views were obtained but it was worth the wait. Now,
normal human beings would almost describe this streaky little brown job as boring
but to us dedicated birders it was one of those LBJs that we never expected to
have the pleasure of seeing due to the overwhelming majority being on that
inaccessible and expensive lump of rock that is Fair Isle.
[Eds: Interestingly during the 1990s I managed to see all of the standard Fair Isle specialities without going any further north than Northumberland with Lancy, PGTips, Yellow-breasted Bunting and Pechora all falling. Rubythroat was still beyond our wildest dreams at this stage and I have still not seen one and White’s and Siberian Thrush had yet to fall.]
Over the next hour and half this eastern waif performed on
and off very well to the assembled crowd and all the salient id features were
noted. Consistent with other reports of Pechora, this bird never called
once. Happy with a profitable afternoon
we left the bird when it dashed into a hedge to roost at 6.10pm. It was never
seen again. Birders from the Scillies were ringing friends to see if it was
worth leaving the island where it was so quiet that there were apparently 600
birders watching a Little Bunting and wishing they were in Yorkshire. [Eds: I seem to recall that it was LGRE’s
bogey bird at the time but that there was no way off Scilly on a Sunday].
Pechora Pipit #409
With that we packed up and headed for home, making a b-line
for the McDonalds on the A! near Nottingham [Eds: This was our traditional stop
on the way back from a big twitch up north]. Hunger sated the rest of the
journey went really quickly and we were soon back at my little car on the A14.
Only an hour to go before home and the opportunity to add #409 to my slowly
improving list.
16th October:
Five up in an Astra is not something I wish to experience
again. The two Adrians, Tony W, Steve B and I squeezed into Adrian’s car in the
name of twitching and headed north once again. The temptation of a two tick day
was too good to miss. The last time this
happened was in 1990 with Greater Flamingo and Short-toed Treecreeper in
Kent. The birds we were after were both
Yanks; the first, a Song Sparrow in the docks at Seaforth on the Mersey and the
second a Greater Yellowlegs near Carlisle.
By 4.30am we were encamped outside the Freeport Dock gates,
first in what was to become a very long queue some of which had evacuated the
Scillies to get here. Some looked more
haggard than we did. Stu Lambert was
there but had had a bad start after getting off Scilly as his two front wheels
had been removed in Penzance! Our wait outside the gates went quickly with much
gossip and tale telling told and a rather vocal policeman was moving cars on
tat tried to squeeze in front of us and blocking the gates. At 7am sharp we
were let in and speed walked to the spot where the Sparrow had been seen to go
to roost.
The place was hideous with acres of zinc bars piled high,
huge scrap heaps, wood piles and dodgy looking pools of bubbling water. A Fox
trotted by and Redwings streamed over in their hundreds. Thankfully within ten minutes the Song
Sparrow appeared on its favoured patch of grass and Mayweed around a small
gravel excavation. A strange little bird
with curious mouse-like shuffling gait, scuttling between clumps of vegetation
and more like a cross between a Dunnock and a grey-brown Reed bunting with a
long rounded rufous tail that was frequently flicked up and open.
Seaforth Docks must rate as the ugliest place I have ever
had the pleasure to go birding. I am in no hurry to return although an Ivory
Gull may tempt me.
 |
| Song Sparrow #410 - the original is now in Shetland with Kettle |
On up to scenic Carlisle and the pretty village on Rockcliff
not more than a mile from the Scottish border.
Fortunately we arrived before the crowds and had great views of this
lanky yellow shank. It was quite happy
chasing and catching Elvers and tiny Flounders although swallowing the latter
was a bit more of a problem. The Greater
Yellowlegs seemed quite oblivious to our presence and allowed a very close
approach. In flight the square white rump
and trailing legs were obvious and it was a much better bird than I imagined.
 |
| Greater Yellowlegs #411 |
Dozens of Fieldfares and Redwings were moving over and with
a last look at the Legs we packed up and headed for home with smiles all round.
23rd October:
Up to Landguard with Pete and Ted and Adastral Close was the
first stop to check the Poplars and Sycamores as they always seem to attract
passerines. Today was no exception with two Pallas’s Warblers, four Firecrests
and a Chiffchaff amongst a large number of Goldcrests. In some respects the Firecrests were even
smarter that the stripy Pallas’s.
After a while I wandered down towards the Fort finding a pair each of Stonechat and Black Redstart on a triangle of waste ground. The male Black Red was immaculate with huge sparkling white wing panels. Mipits, Skylarks and Thrushes were all on the move in a south-westerly direction.
 |
| Black Redstart |
Moving on
we headed to Golf Road by Felixstowe Ferry where a Yellow-browed Warbler was
heard but remained unseen in a garden but there were more Goldcrests and
Chiffies and what could have been a calling Pallas’s Warbler. To Fagbury Cliff
next where another Pallas’s eluded us but the Yellow-browed Warbler was seen
briefly. A male Ring Ouzel attempted to join a flock of Fieldfare and at one
stage we had both these plus Redwing, Blackbird and Mistle Thrush in the top of
the same Oak.
South now and cross country to Colne Point we thankfully we
found first time on this occasion. Our quarry here was a Rough-legged Buzzard
that had been present ten days and a Great Grey Shrike. Both were in attendance and the Buzzard was
ridiculous, perching on the sea wall in front of us with a Rabbit. Unfortunately
when it flew it went the other side and we lost it. The Shrike performed very
from the wires around the chalets being carefully avoided by another Essex tick
in the shape of a female Black Redstart.
Stonechats and Reed buntings were being similarly cautious although the
Shrike seemed content with Beetles.
 |
| Great Grey Shrike |
After a brief catch up with some of the locals we moved on
to Holland Haven where yet another Pallas’s Warbler became my third Essex new
bird in an hour. It was well marked but
only had the faintest upper wing bar.
Quite a day.
30th October:
A hideously wet day in south-east Essex although Pete and I
managed to avoid the worst of it while outside. There was no sign of the
Shorelarks at Hanningfield Reservoir and little else bar a Little Stint so we
headed into the wind and ever darkening clouds and Potton Island and thankfully
it did not take long to find the adult Crane from the from the Wakering side of
the wall. A pleasing county tick after
dipping one here twice in 1989. With the weather getting worse we trudged along
the river wall in search of a Great Grey Shrike [Eds: This one day wonder would
later transpire to be a Steppe Shrike…] but the heavens opened and all we got
for our troubles was a Greenshank, two Stonechat and a flock of Corn
Buntings. We called it a day.
Crane
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