Migration on the North-east Coast
I recently visited the North-east coast to observe the superb migration which occurs during Autumn. The ideal weather conditions would have been overcast, with northerly or easterly winds but instead it was a week of no wind, bright sunshine with barely a cloud in the sky! As a result, migrants were thin on the ground. The first location was Flamborough Head, a famed sea-watching headland and migrant trap. The star find of the few days was this Pied Flycatcher , freshly arrived in off the sea, seen between Thornwick Bay and Bempton Cliffs on the outer head , feeding amongst some vegetation on the cliff-top path. It will have fledged in Scandinavia and moulted its body feathers soon after (not wing or tail feathers though). The tertials (the 3 most upper wing feathers) have quite a large white edge, aging this bird to being a 1st-winter. Over the course of my stay at Flamborough I found three Wheatears , all feeding in stubble fields next to the ...