The Standlake Birder -

  Gentle easterly winds a few days ago brought a flurry of late-autumn vagrants to the east coast, including unusually high numbers of rare wheatears: four Pied, five Isabelline and an astonishing ten Desert Wheatears. These scarce birds are often remarkably confiding. I remember an Isabelline walking within a few feet of me, apparently oblivious to my presence. All three species are on my UK list, along with the much rarer Eastern Black-eared Wheatear. Checking my records, I was surprised to find that my only previous Desert Wheatear sighting had been several years earlier in Devon with Jeremy. I therefore headed to Spurn last Tuesday with two targets: a Desert Wheatear reported on the beach halfway along the point towards the lighthouse, and an Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler as an insurance tick while my October sighting in Kent awaited acceptance. If time allowed, there were plenty of other scarce warblers and pipits to look for. Thick fog on the early-morning drive raised my hopes t...