Wonderful Warblers!

I woke up this morning and got all the gear ready to go to Flamborough. I then went to check Rare Bird Alert to see if any Yellow Browed Warblers were around. I was scrolling through and I came across a Raddes Warbler which was at Flamborough so now I was even more excited! I couldn't wait to get there.

As soon as we arrived we went over to see if we could see the Raddes Warbler. After about 10mins we saw it very briefly in flight and then after that it didn't show for a while so we went to have a look in a different area a bit further down where a few birders were also looking. We waited and waited but nothing was happening, we were about to go when my Dad said "there it is"! It was slowly making its way along the gorse bushes, showing well at times. It is a very nice looking bird, it had bright orange legs which were very distinctive. Another great lifer to add and a fantastic little bird to see.

Raddes Warbler

 

We then moved on to see if we could see anything going over the sea. On the rocks below the cliffs there was Curlew, Oystercatcher, Gulls and my Dad spotted a male Eider sitting on the rocks which looked great through the scope. We then decided to go to Thornwick Pool but on the way back to the car we had a look in this little ditch where we had at least 4 Stonechat, a Whitethroat and lots of Dunnocks.

 

Stonechat

 

When we arrived at Thornwick Pool a man asked us "are you here for the Yellow Browed Warbler". We didn't even know that there was one in this area but we said yes anyway. The man then pointed us in the right direction. On the way to find it I spotted a Chiffchaff flitting around in some trees which was nice to see. We were unsure that we were in the right area but we started searching around but thankfully I spotted a tiny bird flying around in some Willows and I then managed to confirm it as the Yellow Browed Warbler! Views through the bins were great as it was pretty close. They are stunning little birds.

 

Yellow Browed Warbler

 

We then went to see what was viewable from the hide. From the hide there was Teal, Mallard, Moorhen and Coots. As we were about to leave a spotted a Barn Owl flying across the field behind the pool and then a few seconds later it was followed by another one! two Barn Owls hunting in the same field. Awesome! Every few minutes they kept coming back with voles and mice. We then found out they were going into the barn next to the hide so we were almost certain they were nesting! A great end to a superb day!

 

 

Barn Owls