Another Cliffhanger!

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Another Cliffhanger!

Image by @RobsBirding, not same bird

We arrived at Filey at around 11:00am after getting a lift there by Carl. We had just come from Nottinghamshire where we dipped Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. As soon as we arrived at Filey, we immediately started walking towards Top Fields, where three Lapland Buntings had recently been seen. Along the way, I noticed a Fulmar flying along the cliffs, as well as multiple Kittiwakes far out to sea. Once we had arrived at Top Fields, we met another birder who was also searching for the Lapland Buntings. Suddenly, Carl called us over saying he had seen the three Lapland Buntings in flight. After a bit of waiting, we spotted the Lapland Buntings again in flight. They were much darker and longer winged than the Skylarks that were in the same field. After getting a few more brief flight views, I spotted what I thought was a Reed Bunting at first in the field, but I then realised it was a Lapland Bunting. We waited a bit longer to try and get a record shot of the Lapland Buntings, but we were unsuccessful and decided to look for a Snow Bunting that had been reported along Carr Naze instead.  


As soon as we arrived at Carr Naze, we noticed the Snow Bunting immediately as it fed less that a few metres away. 


It was extremely confiding and allowed me to get some amazing shots of it. Even when the dog walkers went by, the Snow Bunting didn't seem fazed at all, and continued feeding right next to us. More than satisfied with our views, we made our way back to the car park, spotting my first hirundine of the year, along the way, a Sand Martin. We then went to Burton Riggs YWT in hopes of seeing a Red-necked Grebe. After walking around the reserve, we ended up dipping the bird and headed over to Wykeham Forest in hopes of seeing some raptors.


As soon as we arrived at Wykeham Forest, we made our way to the Raptor Viewpoint. Once at the viewpoint, we immediately noticed lots of Bramblings flying in behind the conifers. When they landed, the noise was deafening, but they were just out of view. We then saw three Crossbills land in a small tree, right in front of us. They paused in the tree, allowing me to get some incredible views of this cracking bird.


Also, in the same tree as the Crossbills, were two Siskins, which showed just as nicely as the Crossbills. 

Image by Noah Baily, not same birds

As we were watching the Crossbills, Carl suddenly spotted two Goshawks distantly along the horizon, before they then dropped down and out of view. We then spotted the Goshawks again distantly, and we counted at least three individuals. 


As we were watching the Crossbills and Goshawks, Carl spotted a moth fly over us. I waited for the moth to land, before taking a photo of it and asking an expert what it is. I soon found out that it was a March Dagger, a widespread woodland moth and a new moth for me. Satisfied with our views of the Crossbills, we called it a day and headed home.

Overall, a brilliant day with one lifer (Lapland Bunting) and plenty of exciting birds seen.

Location: 6P8H+VP Filey, UK

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