Late morning on 15 Sep, news broke of a potential Eastern Yellow Wagtail at Lodmoor. I quickly headed down to find there was a debate around whether it was Dorset's first Eastern Yellow Wagtail or one of very few Citrine Wagtails that had occurred in Dorset. At one point, it had showed well with a party of thirty or so Yellow Wagtails, but the Wagtails had flushed to land further back on the marsh, in slightly longer vegetation or dispersed from the area. It hadn't been seen since this point. To add to the pain of missing it, was the chance to look at photos on the back of Pete Coe's camera. My initial impressions at this point was it looked like a Citrine Wagtail.
After a long wait, Brett Spencer who had originally found it, managed to relocate it away from the main Yellow Wagtail party. We had good views about twenty to thirty metres away onto the marsh over the next hour. The identification debate continued for a few days, but it changed to whether it was a Citrine Wagtail or a hybrid individual. Part of the problem was the head pattern looked good on the right hand side of its head. However, the facial pattern was less clear cut on the left hand side of the head.
Over the next few days, the general opinion settled down on it being a Citrine Wagtail. Finally, news came through on 26 Sep, that Magnus Robb has listened to recordings that Nick Hopper had made & Magnus was happy with the identification a Citrine Wagtail. Magnus is probably the leading sound expert in Europe.
There have only been the following Citrine Wagtails in Dorset:
- Two first Winter individuals at Stanpit on 15 Oct 66: this record was inherited from Hampshire when the Dorset boundaries were expanded in Apr 74
- One at Lodmoor on 6 May 09
- One at Portland Bird Obs on 11 May 14
- One at Lodmoor on 1 Sep 16
- One at Portland Bill on 25 Aug 22.