My return to work this week was made a lot easier, and less stressful, by the knowledge that I had seen the
Siberian Accentor at Easington last Sunday, the second record for Britain. Many birders will still be pinching themselves that they were able to see one of the six individuals of this species which have graced British shores over the last fortnight. The Yorkshire bird, which finally moved on on Thursday, was undoubtedly the most widely twitched. Checking the time stamps on my images we had just 15 minutes with the bird showing at close range, but happily it seemed like much longer.
The East Yorkshire coast was enjoying a real purple patch with flocks of Dusky Warblers and the odd Radde's among them. Siberian Stonechats were popping up and, the day after our trip, an Isabelline Wheatear was found also in Easington. We didn't have time to go looking for such goodies unfortunately, but before heading south we did manage to stop at the beach by the Bluebell café where a Shorelark was very confiding. A few pictures of the Shorelark below, and, as a special treat, a few more of
Prunella montanella - yes I know that sounds like an adult movie starlet from an American mountain film festival, but if you can just drag your minds out of the gutter for a second, you will recall it's actually the scientific name for the Siberian Accentor.
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| The Shorelark was easy to find - we just headed for the long line of birdwatchers on the beach! |
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| An attractive species, photographed in horrible light unfortunately |
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| The second 'zorro' masked bird of the day, the first being, of course.... |
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| ...the Siberian Accentor |
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| Catching the light during a brief period of sunshine |
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| Here channelling Denis Healey with those prominent brows |
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