Two-barred Warbler, Spurn Point 17 October 2021
TWO IN A ROW! Another weekend and another UK lifer. Following last Saturday’s Long-toed Stint, came Two-barred Warbler at Spurn Point! Identified by my old pal from Tyneside, Adam Hutt, who was expecting to see a reported Yellow-browed Warbler, in the bushes at the south end of the canal. Thanks a lot Adam! It was lucky he checked it out and that it wasn’t then re-identified after the event from photos, taken by the finder of the presumed Yellow-browed. Astonishingly Adam still hasn’t seen a Yellow-browed Warbler at Spurn yet in 2021! A sign of what a strange year it has been for many migrants. The warbler was horribly elusive and was a challenge to see, let alone photograph, on a damp and dull morning. I only managed a single vaguely acceptable frame and plenty of poor record shots. The evenly broad greater covert wing bar and the all pink lower mandible were very obvious even partly hidden in the canopy where it remained for most of the time in the wind and drizzle. It is a shame that ‘Greenish’ was dropped from its name by almost everyone now, even though a bit of mouthful it did make it sound more exotic than plain old Two-barred Warbler to my mind. Alexander even saw it a few times as it called and flew from bush to bush and he had a bit of fun dodging the many twitchers crowded along the road by the canal hide car park. It was a great feeling to return to Spurn for the first time since lockdown and see so many old friends. I hope it’s not as long until my next visit.