East Coast twitch

The first East Coast twitch for me and my buddy Alan this winter. Plans where drawn Friday night as usual, Sat nav programmed. The rest of the team alerted. The itinerary included two lifers, and some good sea birds as support. Morning could not come to soon.
7:45, Picked up Alan, the others will just have to read 'em and weep.
Between Filey and Scarborough, A Pied Wheatear, goes into hiding as we arrived. Oh good a stake-out, I like stakeouts. 55 minutes later out it comes, and performs like a goodun' for ages. Photographing was hard in the wind, but the bird came very close. Yes! Lifer number 3 for me this year.
Scarborough harbour - A Long Tailed Duck was being harassed by a Great Northern Diver. Many times the Diver tried making a 'new one' in the rear of the duck by swimming below and surfacing at the rear. Good fun to watch. Great photos taken by myself and Alan. They came really close, too close for me, and being both excellent divers, 4 seconds on the surface, 1 minute submerged, made getting good pictures a great challenge. Shame about the Iceland Gull that was present. It disappeared as we looked for it. That's what makes this hobby so fun, there are no certs.
The other lifer the Two Barred Crossbill will have to wait another day, another year, another decade.
A great day out.
Total 153 this year

Winter Desert..

Having my fingers and everything else crossed all week has payed off. A chance to get the lost Desert Wheatear - 2 in the country.

Cromer point, Burniston, North Yorkshire, TA0292. A 6am blast off from home, I get to the top of a very cold Seacliff top. A couple of minutes walk from my warm car, and I am in a small stubble area with 4 or 5 stonechats showing off. The wind is bitter. Then I see it. a few feet to my left. What a poser! The bird was happy to tolerate birders if they stayed still. Crippling views, and then I am back to the car in 10 minutes. As I take my boots off, a strange (to me), call comes from the hedge. A trill - a whistle - a trill.. My brain gives me a question - Is that a Lapland Bunting call? A lapland Bunting, the bird I have most dipped on. I inspect the hedge. A bunting shaped bird, sees me coming, and it's erupts from the bush still calling. Yes! that's it. A lifer. No sign of the Snow Bunts - my bogey bird this year. Face beaming, I'm off to scarborogh harbour - Great Northern Diver - ticked.

184 - Desert Wheatear

185 - Lapland Bunting.

Nail biting times.