Finders in the Field: Two-Barred Greenish Warbler, Spurn, East Yorkshire
Birding is bit of a funny past time! And with days like today I tend to agree! I am a relatively new convert to more serious birding. And as a result I have spent the last 3 years combing the beautiful but what often seems birdless county of Buckinghamshire. This is why my trip to relative birding paradise like Spurn always gets the heart racing.
However my trip up to East Yorkshire didn’t initially go to plan. Finishing work mid afternoon Friday my plan was to drive up and pick up a number of ticks on the way. First, was a Rock pipits in Milton Keynes (very much a Bucks county “mega”). DIPPED! But the thought of what was waiting further North comforted this county listers frustration. So I headed North.
Next stop St Aidans for the relatively longish staying Long-toed Stint. Arriving at 11pm Friday, my concerns when I realised it was a completely clear star filled night was justified with my second Dip within 24hr the next morning (no Stint!). But look, A Juv Baird’s only 45min down the road. Off I went, DIPPED! Thank goodness for the Blacktofts Sands accommodating White-tailed Lapwing.
Now I finally had a tick under my belt I felt ready for Spurn. On the way reports of Taiga’s FC further up the coast were tempting but I had had enough of driving, Time for Spurn!
On arrival I was struck by just how quiet it was. I managed to find a space on the roadside close to the Warren Gates. First stop Seawatch hide! But just as I approach the gate I see a small bird working along the fence to my left. As I approach it darts across the road down into the small roadside pond area. WARBLER!!? I approach slowly and get onto it immediately while it fed frantically in the roadside thicket. Through the bins I get a strong yellow super! My untrained eye ignores the (some may say) obvious, and Immediately think (assume) bingo YBW!! Yet something wasn’t quite right. So I took some record shots and sent a “back of the camera” image to my local birding group. Initially I had been given the thumbs up for YBW. I was over the moon and couldn’t wait to report the news. Despite not getting great views after this I left happy to have seen my first YBW for the weekend.
Later in the early evening while viewing a couple of Short-eared Owls at Sammie’s I received a call from a trusted experienced Birder back in Bucks (who himself was twitching on Scilly). “Hey Dave, just calling about that YBW you have posted on Twitter. I was wondering more like Two Barred Greenish!! Do you realise one is being reported close to your find site?” Uh, OMG! Heart racing hands shaking I head back to the car and straight back to Kilnsea to find a large group of Birders in the gloom outside the visitors centre staring into a thicket.
A Two Barred Greenish Warbler!!! First for Spurn and only a handful of UK records. Absolutely made up! From Dipping a county tick Rock Pipit to almost falling over a UK mega all within 24 hours. Birding maybe weird but I love it!!
David Bevan
I was just about to make myself a coffee and contemplating relaxing in the Observatory Garden for a while, when a radio message came through regarding a Yellow-browed Warbler by Pallas’s Pond. I still hadn’t seen one this year, so eventually wandered down with my coffee, but alas there was no sign. I checked the Warren area, then 20 minutes later, another message said it was in canal hedge, so I quickly wandered up that way.
Not finding any other observers, as I walked through a Goldcrest drew my attention to it’s location, as I’ve seen these two species together so many times. I stood in the small clearing and suddenly a small Warbler, landed facing me, eight feet away. Lifting my binoculars, straight away I realised this was no YBW, the flared supercilium behind the eye was wrong, it turned slightly away, and I knew what I was looking at, swearing under my breath, heart fluttering somewhat as adrenalin kicked in.
I picked up my radio within seconds of seeing it and panickily radioed out that a Two-barred Greenish Warbler was in canal hedge, not knowing that this had been the bird in question. Equal panic ensued from those arriving on the scene, trying to get their first view of this first for Spurn. I would love to tell you, I had looked through the few clinching features, before radioing it out, but no it was purely on, “well it just looks like one”. The best feature, of course being the two obvious wing bars, the greater coverts wing bar, being a long and broad almost rectangular block, while the bill was deep and strong. The bird unfortunately did not give its distinctive call that evening but has been heard this morning, as it put on another good showing for a large appreciative crowd.
Adam Hutt
18 Oct 2021
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