Sunday 13 October 2019

Red eyed Vireo and a Great Snipe in Yorkshire

We set off this morning with a plan to see the drake Hooded Merganser at Titchwell and then make our way north if the Red eyed Vireo was still at Easington. On arrival at Titchwell it was raining heavy but we set off to check the reserve for the duck. I found a Yellow browed Warbler to give the Jims a year tick but the duck wasn't to be found. We toyed with the idea of walking to Thornham point for a Grey Phalarope but then news came through that the Vireo had been seen so we turned and headed for Yorkshire. The drive was nasty with road closures taking us through Hull but we arrived around 1.30pm and got straight on the target. For the next couple of hours we watched the bird return to feed on Elder every half hour or so and filled the gaps with good views of more Yellow browed Warblers and a Pied Flycatcher. At around 4pm news started to filter through via the locals walkie talkies of a possible Great Snipe at Kilnsea then within ten minutes the ID had been confirmed and the panic set in as 90% of the Vireo crowd set off on the short journey to Beacon Lane. We walked up the lane to find a small gathering had the footpath blocked as the Great Snipe was sitting on the footpath and they'd set a protective boundary for it. We set up the scopes and after a bit of a tumble I managed to get on the bird for my second lifer of the day.
What a day!

Year list now level with my best ever total of 286
Life list now 409


Red eyed Vireo at Easington
Red eyed Vireo
Lifer!
Red eyed Vireo
The scramble for the Great Snipe

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