Thursday 27th October 2022
	The first widely twitchable Alpine Accentor since 2002 was discovered at Slaughden, Suffolk early afternoon, where it remained around the Martello tower until dusk when it roosted on a pipe. Birds at Overstrand, Norfolk in 2004 and Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire in 2016 were evening finds and were each twitchable for just a couple of hours, whilst two others in 2016 and one in 2014 were seen only by their finders. An Eastern Yellow Wagtail was at Kilnsea and a Red-rumped Swallow flew over Scalby Mills, both Yorkshire, an Eastern Stonechat species was at Budle Bay, Northumberland and a Lesser Yellowlegs was on Papa Westray, Orkney. The Pallid Swift influx gathered pace, with around 16 new individuals found today. Birds were seen at Foreness Point and Seasalter, both Kent, Berry Head, Devon, Winterton, Horsey, Overstrand, Sidestrand, West Runton, Great Yarmouth (two), Cromer (four) and Sheringham (up to six), all Norfolk, Whitby, Yorkshire, Hoylake, Wirral and Wexford, County Wexford. Other lingering rarities seen today included the Blackburnian Warbler, Wilson's Snipe, American Buff-bellied Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit and Red-rumped Swallow in Scilly, Isabelline Wheatear in County Cork, Dusky Warbler in Suffolk, Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll and Eastern Black Redstart in Orkney (with another of the former in Shetland), Collared Pratincole in Gloucestershire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cleveland and Merseyside, Long-billed Dowitcher in Norfolk, Subalpine Warbler species in Northumberland, Blyth's Reed Warbler and Ferruginous Duck in County Donegal, White-winged Scoter in Lothian and King Eider in Shetland. Scarcity highlights included a Richard's Pipit, a Short-toed Lark, a Barred Warbler, a Common Rosefinch, a Lapland Bunting, two Hoopoes, two Great Grey Shrikes, three Pallas's Warblers, three Red-breasted Flycatchers, five Shorelarks, five Waxwings, a Rough-legged Buzzard, six Glossy Ibises, an American Wigeon, three Ring-necked Ducks, a Tundra Bean Goose, a Black Brant, a Temminck's Stint, a Red-necked Phalarope, two Grey Phalaropes, three Pectoral Sandpipers, a Cory's Shearwater, 148 Great Shearwaters, nine Balearic Shearwaters, eight Pomarine Skuas, a Glaucous Gull and three Iceland Gulls.
-  Will Soar, RBA