Monday 22nd October 2012
	A fantastic arrival of birds on the English east coast, particularly in East Anglia, produced an excellent selection of rarities in addition to huge numbers of thrushes and chats. Headline discoveries included Red-flanked Bluetails in Norfolk and Northumberland, Olive-backed Pipits in Norfolk and Orkney, Little Bunting in Northumberland, Red-rumped Swallow on Orkney, Dusky Warbler in Kent (with another reported in Cleveland) and Radde's Warbler in Northumberland. On Isles of Scilly a Penduline Tit (Tresco) and Radde's Warblers (St Agnes and Gugh) were logged and on Orkney two Hornemann's Arctic Redpolls were on North Ronaldsay Elsewhere Bonaparte's Gull (Devon), Lesser Yellowlegs (Lancashire), Lesser Scaup (Somerset), Red-breasted Geese (Kent and Argyll), Siberian Stonechat (East Sussex), Lanceolated Warbler and three Olive-backed Pipits (Shetland), Glossy Ibis (Pembrokeshire) and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Fife) were all confirmed as still present. In Ireland Olive-backed Pipit and Dusky Warbler in Co Galway, American Golden Plover and Spotted Sandpiper in Co Clare and Lesser Yellowlegs in Co Dublin and Co Kerry were the most notable reports. The best of the rest included Purple Heron in Cornwall, Pallas's Warblers in Co Durham and Kent, Serins in Kent and Cornwall and Spotted Crake and Marsh Warbler on Isles of Scilly.
-  Stuart Piner, RBA