A Swift response to a Sibe

I was out with Mark and Pete Watson today and miraculously some of the East Coast mid week goodies were still present this weekend, we decided to start at Hartlepool. We were soon watching the Western Bonelli’s Warbler in Borough Hall Gardens, lovely little bird but it was very active and it was hard enough keeping on it let alone getting any pics, then with news the Pallid Swift was showing out towards the Heugh Gun Battery we thought we’d go and see that and come back to the Warbler later, the controversial Swift (although I think its generally regarded as a Pallid now) performed really well and we spent quite some time with it before heading to the Jewish Cemetery where a Dusky Warbler had been reported earlier, unfortunately that had gone to ground by the time we got there, plus it wasn’t calling and with a strong breeze getting up we eventually gave up on it, back at Borough Hall Gardens the windy conditions had also put paid to refinding the Bonelli’s so we decided to head back down the coast to Scarborough where the Siberian Stonechat was still showing at Scalby Mills, a very nice bird and again showing really well down the little ravine there, also a Dipper on the stream. There had been a report of a Lapland Bunting at Long Nab so we tried for that next but it was a needle in a haystack job really, joined by our mates from Leeds we walked through the stubble field and although we flushed plenty of Skylarks and Linnets etc the best bird we saw was a Wheatear, with time getting on it was back into Scarborough to check an area near the Open Air Theatre for a Yellow Browed Warbler, we got onto it in with a little Tit flock, it called a few times but only gave a couple of fleeting glimpses, it was a big area and the flock was ranging widely, still all in all a pretty good day.

hoped to have got better later but never got another chance

a bit of sun