A long weekend at my brother and sister-in-law’s rather fine new caravan in Flamborough promised much birdwise: October is a brilliant time for birds on the east coast. Alas, the birds weren’t aware of this, and we struggled on the sea, with only a couple of Sooty and four Manx Shearwaters to show for three days of seawatching, although a Grey Phalarope that flew in to see us was a nice surprise. On land, there were a number of Yellow-browed Warblers, but, although they were audible, they only showed for a fraction of a second. The undisputed star of the trip was a very tame Merlin that just sat and cleaned the blood off its bill and feet while we photographed it.
To hear about a Black-necked Grebe a couple of miles from home while we were away was frustrating, particularly as it seemed to have left while we were on our way home. Fortunately, it hung around and gave us decent views tonight after work.