You never know...

As I headed out to Long Nab this morning, I did not expect to find a great deal of note, but with the wind in the NW I did hope that there may be a little interest on the sea. However, it soon became apparent that was not to be the case and in fact as the minutes ticked by I was pondering whether it could be up there amongst the top ten worst sea-watches I have experienced at Long Nab. There is a lot of competition for a position in that particular top ten listing, with many very slow hours spent watching here, but with 10 Teal, 2 Red-throated Divers the best I could manage in 90 minutes it has to be up there!

In fact things were so dire, I spent some time taking a few photos so that anyone out there who are actually following this fledgling blog can get a feel of the place I like to call my patch.

Our luxurious seawatching hut

View along the coast north of the hut. The high point in the far distance is Roger Trod.

The view along the coast south of the hut towards Scarborough.

So, with the excitement (!) of the sea-watching over, I opted for a wander in the direction of the ringing site. Once again no great expectation, and with no migrants en-route I wasn't anticipating much. However, you never know and on arrival I heard the calls of a Goldcrest and soon located two birds; the first I have seen here this autumn. Encouraging... I then heard a single 'tuh' call, that sure sounded like a Wood Warbler, but seemed a little unlikely on such a quiet morning this late in September. However, the bird in question soon appeared above my head and I enjoyed nice views of a smart Wood Warbler as it fed in the centre of the ringing site. My attempts to get a photo were not entirely successful, with the shot below the best I managed. 

Wood Warbler

Although not the latest date for the local area, two on Castle Hill on 26th September 1976 appear to be the latest ever recorded around here, it was nevertheless a very pleasing find.

I sent a couple of texts to let local birders know and it wasn't long before Micky McNaghten joined me. We heard the bird calling on a number of occasions, but it refused to show.  Other warblers on site today included 2 Whitethroats, 4 Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap, whilst overhead the hirundines got their act together around midday with Swallows and House Martins collecting in groups over Cloughton and then pushing south. Respective totals of 359 and 298 were recorded up until we left at 1315. 23 Pink-footed Geese and three Siskins also headed south, to give the morning a fairly respectable feel.