To quote a good friend of mine "After the Lord Major's show..."

Last Sunday was a bit mad. Sunday 14 October will go down in local birding folklore though.

The finding of a very special bird at Hornsea Mere - my local patch - by a friend was a momentous occasion, indeed it was the first time this bird had been seen in Great Britain. That doesn't happen very often.

A White-rumped Swift was found by Lesley Ball in the pouring rain from her own front room on Sunday afternoon. After the strong and warm southerly winds on Saturday, she saw Swallows and House Martins through her bins from her window. Swallows in mid-October? Rare enough, but also there was something that looked like a Swallow at first glance but raised a question as it looked different and needed a little more investigation.

That investigation meant going out and getting closer, luckily the bird also came closer. She saw the scythe-like wings of a swift but it was smaller....and it had a white rump. Friends were called on our local WhatsApp grapevine and initially it was thought to be a Pacific Swift, which would have been terrific, but could it be a White-rumped asked Tim? A few of us reckoned we saw the diagnostic signs of white edges but no firm id could be announced without photos to back it up. Once the throngs of birders started arriving and good photos were taken and reviewed, it was declared to be a White-rumped Swift and a first for Great Britain!!

I didn't take any photos myself as the rain was really heavy and my camera is not at all waterproof so I left it at home. The good news is that by the time the really good photographers had arrived it had nearly stopped raining so they had a good chance of getting decent shots.

After all the furore and loads of people up and down the place on Sunday and Monday, it was nice to have the place back to normal by Tuesday - peace reigned once again and birds flew, birders birded, dog walkers walked their dogs, dabbling ducks dabbled and twitchers were absent 😊

It did however feel a little anticlimactic.

Wednesday was a bit better as Jon found a Yellow-browed Warbler in Second Field (second field in from Hull Road on the south side of Hornsea Mere). Jon, Mark, Lesley, Alan, Mike and myself gathered near the ash tree where it was spotted but although Mark saw it as it flew into a neighbouring sycamore tree, the rest of us missed it.

Today, Thursday 18 October, was a sunny but cool day. The temperature had risen to a giddy 7 degrees C as I set out for the sea front - #nolongerinshorts! I decided to check the trees just inland from the beach for Yellow-browed Warblers, or any migrants. No luck with them but a Kestrel landed on a branch very close to me and gave great views for a minute or so.

Kestrel

It moved from the branch onto the ground and then back up onto another branch - still giving good views.

Perhaps KP will have a YBW, after all it has plenty of broad leaved trees? Off I went on my usual route around my patch but KP had no migrants. 2 Cetti's Warblers of course and the usual ducks etc. but Bull Hole (the north east corner of Hornsea Mere) yielded the Great White Egret flying out towards Decoy.

Great White Egret flying west

There was also a single Little Egret and 5 Grey Herons along the north shore up to Swan Island. One of the herons came over me as it flew off.

Grey Heron off elsewhere

At the end of KP was a Grey Wagtail. We've had a breeding pair here this year which is fantastic.

Grey Wagtail in different light conditions

I checked Bull Hole again on my way out of KP and there were a few Teal feeding, but no Moorhens or Water Rail which is what I'd hoped for.

Teal

I walked round to the south side but nothing else of note showed itself so I walked off home for a cuppa and a biscuit. It had been a fine walk in lovely weather - what more could a bloke ask for in October?