On 23 Oct 12, I was Birding on Portland after a Daurian Shrike had been found at the Bill. After seeing it, I was generally Birding when I was told the previous day, there had been a suppressed Arctic Warbler in a garden at Southwell. A group of mainly, but not exclusively, locals were invited in to see it, after being told that if they let the news out, they would never be allowed to see anything else that the householders decided to suppress. That first afternoon, Brett Spencer managed to get uninvited access & I understood he rang the Obs that evening & told them, it wasn't an Arctic Warbler. The suggestion after that was perhaps it was an Eastern Crowned Warbler: so an even bigger suppression. Fast-forward another day, and there was an announcement that evening, that either a Pale-legged Warbler or Sakhalin Warbler was involved, but it had gone. Four years later, a DNA confirmed Pale-legged Warbler turned up in the UK. The only problem was it was found dead under a window on St Agnes.
On 25 Sep, an Arctic Warbler turned up at Bempton. Replicating the Portland individual, it became a probable Eastern Crowned Warbler later that day. It was relocated on 27 Sep and finally identified as the UK's first alive Pale-legged Warbler. It was reported to be very skulky. I knew it would chaos the following day and decided not to head up. Unfortunately, I was committed to a WeBS count on 29 Sep, with strong winds and rain forecast for the next day. I had an early morning dental appointment on 1 Oct, but I was free after that. The weather still looked windy with the risk of rain, but dried than the previous day. I arrived just after 16:15, to find after forty Birders looking. Most had seen or glimpsed it during the afternoon as it skulked in a patch of low trees. Occasionally, an individual would see it. But by the time they started giving precise directions of "see the big branches", it was already long gone. Suffice to say I didn't see it. I headed into Bridlington for some food, before finding somewhere to park & sleep over in the Ford Focus hotel.
I was pleased that it rained for a couple of hours from dusk, albeit, it had stopped by 20:00. I fell asleep soon after, so I had no idea of whether there was further rain that evening. I had a good night's sleep and was ready for a full day of searching. The following morning was still windy, but dry and with the prospect of better light. This was essential as it spent long periods deep in cover. I spent the first forty-five minutes of the morning watching the trees it was last seen in. However, there had been no sightings in the final hour of light & I suspected it had left those trees before dusk. But it was as good an area to try as anywhere. Fortunately, after about forty-five minutes, somebody relocated it on the other side of that section of the car park: about twenty metres from where it had been last seen. There were about seventy people present: a mixture of Birders & clueless idiots with bins. Every now and then, a small group of Birders a few metres from me were seeing it. It was a case of holding my nerve and hoping it would finally show from where I was standing. Finally, I saw it after a thirty minute wait. I immediately saw why it had been so difficult to see. It would sit still for maybe fifteen or more seconds, before moving to a nearby position and staying still again. It remained deep in cover and generally three to five feet above the ground.
Pale-legged Warbler: Finally, I got a chance to get some photos. It was skulking deep into the trees and usually three to five feet above the ground. It could go missing for five to ten minutes, before popping back into view on the same branches. It is amazing that it was relocated given how skulky it was
After a number of good views, but no photos, it moved about ten metres right and the people to my left couldn't see it. At this point, these idiots thought that the best plan was for a group of them to walk within between the Birders and the Pale-legged Warbler, as close as a couple of metres away from it. Not surprisingly, it disappeared deeper into cover. They seemed surprised to be getting blunt & completely justified comments about their lack of field craft: but not one of them bothered to apologise. Eventually, it popped out again, but I'm glad the idiots weren't in a position to see it, as that group were now all standing right next to the bushes further to my right. They should have been taken away for some basic fieldcraft lessons. Soon after that, it flicked over our heads & was back in the trees were it had been seen the previous evening. Time to relocate and I knew where I needed to be standing to get a good chance of seeing it.
Pale-legged Warbler: On a few occasions, I heard it call. To my ears, I would describe it as reminiscent of a Dunnock call, but higher pitched. Apparently, it was calling well earlier in its stay and that probably helped many Birders locate it
The Pale-legged Warbler showed on and off in these trees, always low down & keeping well back. Fortunately, the RSPB had roped off the trees, which stopped anybody from trying to get into the trees. With the poor fieldcraft on display that morning, I wouldn't have been surprised by more poor behaviour. I managed to get a few photos, but most of the time, when it showed the camera was struggling to focus on the right branch, given how far it was into the trees. Unfortunately, it was still dark under these trees and the camera was on about 10,000 ISO. I watched it on and off for about three hours, before I was happy I wasn't likely to get any better views.
Pale-legged Warbler: Soon after this, I decided I had had enough and decided it was time to head home
Normally, I spend a few minutes photographing the Tree Sparrows when I visit this part of the Yorkshire coast. However on this occasion, they were pretty much ignored, given how much focus was needed to look for the Pale-legged Warbler. Consequently, this was the only Tree Sparrow photo taken on the day.
Tree Sparrow: I only spent a minute on this occasion taking these photos on the feeders at a distance
Checking RBA, the highlights on the East Coast at that moment, were an Icterine Warbler at Flamborough and an Arctic Warbler at Spurn. I wasn't bothered enough to want to figure out more details and I was happy to start the long journey back to Dorset. Halfway home, I stopped at a motorway services and the latest news was a Two-barred Greenish Warbler and an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler had been found in Yorkshire. Fortunately, I've seen both species in Dorset, so I was happy I didn't have to consider turning around.
This trip finally took some of the pain out of Dorset’s Pale-legged Warbler or Sakhalin Warbler suppression. However, after a day of suppression, when thoughts were heading in the direction of Dorset's first Eastern Crowned Warbler, it remained suppressed. This garden had previously held a Collared Flycatcher and on that occasion, access was requested to allow Birders to stand in the field adjacent to the house to view the Collared Flycatcher. Given the interest in an Eastern Crowned Warbler this would have been a good thing to try organising. Instead a plan of catch it, identify it and release elsewhere was being considered. The Obs & co did a good job in figuring out a likely identification. It's a pity the same effort wasn't made into working out how more people might have been given the chance to see this interesting Phyllos.
Back in 1995, The Corrs released their excellent debut album "Forgiven, not Forgotten". They were only half-right with this title. I think "Not Forgiven, not Forgotten" would be more appropriate, as that's how I still feel about this suppression.
