Having seen good views of the Masked Shrike, then there was still a couple of hours for Peter Moore & myself to have a look at some of the other good Birds at Spurn. The combination of the favourable winds & the number of Birders had found Olive-backed Pipit, 2 Red-breasted Flycatchers, Barred Warbler & a Yellow-browed Warbler in the general area. However, the bad behaviour at the Olive-backed Pipit by Birders trying to flush it to see it, had meant that it had disappeared. Peter Moore & I were keen to see the Barred Warbler as it was only about 300 metres walk up the road. First stop was the chance to have a quick chat with friend & keen blogger, Ewan Urquhart, who writes the Black Audi Birding blog. Regular readers will remember I spent a couple of great days on Rum last October with Ewan on the Mourning Dove twitch. Unfortunately, it was only a short catch up as we were moving in opposite directions & time was short. Next stop was another 40 metres up the road, where there was a Red-breasted Flycatcher. But it hadn't been seen for about 15 minutes, so we didn't linger. 5 minutes later we arrived on the beach to look for the Barred Warbler.
Barred Warbler bushes: The Barred Warbler was skulking in these bushes, but eventually it popped out completely for a minute or two
Spurn Fashion Week: It's a smaller, low key, event compared to the London Fashion Week. But the number of motor drives going when the Barred Warbler popped out a few minutes later, would have impressed the catwalk. Peter is on the extreme right, trying to pretend it's cold up North
Barred Warbler: Being typically shy. My first Barred Warbler for about 19 years since Edge who featured in the Masked Shrike post found one in Winspit
Barred Warbler: A quick check to confirm Peter had moved to the other side of the hedge
Barred Warbler: After confirming he isn't there, it popped out
Barred Warbler: Look at the size of that bill
Barred Warbler: This is a species that doesn't raise many eyebrows on the East coast, but being much less than annual in Dorset, it's a good bird for us
Barred Warbler: Note, the white tips to the outer tail feathers
Having had good views & reasonable photos of the Barred Warbler, it was time to start drifting back to the car. But with a stop for the Red-breasted Flycatcher, which was now moving around in trees & bushes next to the road.
Red-breasted Flycatcher: Another species which is only every few years in Dorset. Having seen my first in Dorset, last year, I guess I've got another 3 or 4 years before the next one even turns up
Red-breasted Flycatcher
We finished off back at the Masked Shrike field, but it was skulking & only erratically showing at the far edge of the field. But a male Roe Deer had appeared. This one has a much darker face than the my local Roe Deer.
Roe Deer: Male happy sleeping by the Masked Shrike hedge
The final stop before leaving was the Bluebell cafe: You could tell we weren't in Dorset, when it was only £5.60 for a pasty, slice of chocolate cake & pot of tea.