Another light NW wind this am and my walk eastwards from Langdon was punctuated by 4 Brambling, c15 Siskin and 6 Tree Sparrow over West, a Merlin over Harbour field ,I’d heard that the Snow Bunting was still in situ and good numbers of Stonechat and Reed bunting were noted. As I’d birded mostly Langdon Hole yesterday (and with finding a Pallas’s warbler on my mind) I drifted towards the sheltered sycamores around lighthouse down and the valley.
The sunny side of the valley seemed quite birdy, and a spot I rarely check held 3 Chiffchaff feeding near a small pond when suddenly movement low down caught my attention. I could see heavily obscured bits and pieces of a darkish looking phyllosc that looked to have warm grey yellow underparts and was that some apricot tones towards the vent?! a strong ‘eastern looking’ supercillium, I saw some wing flicking. then it was gone… Wobbly legs followed but then I heard it call, (a bird I’ve readied myself for finding many times before and confirming my suspicions from the brief views I’d had) A Raddes Warbler!! about 5 minutes passed before it came out into the sunshine and fed low down in the base of some willow herb; A Lovely bird.
I put the news out and called some locals. Colin J was basically driving past when I called and saw the bird almost instantly after arriving, Brendan R also arrived quickly enough to see the bird which actually flew into mid height in a bare tree before flitting into more suitable Radde’s habitat.
Below is Brendan’s lovely image of it without twigs in the way.
Im very happy with the find and an hour or so later i received news that a Humes Warbler had been found close to the Radde’s site! I’ll have to hope its there tomorrow as couldn’t get away again today. Well done to Brendan R and Gerald S for finding that.
PERDIX BIRDER 