Never Enough Birding: Double Blakeney

Some birds are simply more inspiring than others, and I have a tendency to remain relatively unenthused about splits; of course they all count for us OCD listers, so it makes no sense to distinguish between a stunner and a split. But in reality excitement is also part of the twitching buzz, or at least it should be, so for me splits tend to feel more of a functional tick to sate that OCD and keep moving upwards rather than the best twitches which are genuinely exciting avian adventures.

So last Wednesday (30th May) when news of a Moltoni's Warbler came through from John O'Groats it barely registered. A lack of enthusiasm coupled with an impending minor elbow operation meant I ruled out going immediately, although secretly acknowledging that if it stayed I would inevitably crack at the first opportunity. Moltoni's Warbler was until recently a sub-species of Subalpine Warbler, recently raised to full species status. Spring males are identifiable on subtle plumage characteristics, but best confirmed on call. All other ages require calls or DNA to identify. So on paper, for the moment at least, it remains a truly rare bird here. The stats are almost certainly a reflection of fledgling status and difficulty of identification though - Moltoni's are very likely to be annual at the very least.

I consoled myself that there would soon be another as the Scottish bird had departed on Thursday, had my op and settled in for a pleasant weekend with the kids (Han Solo movie anyone?). I saw Malc Curtin Thursday morning at the patch (where a Grasshopper Warbler reeled on Ashton's) and he joked there would soon be one on Blakeney Point in Norfolk. That turned out to be an uncannily accurate prediction, as it proved to be exactly the case on Saturday 2nd June, with news breaking at lunchtime of a singing and (crucially) calling male. Social plans were shelved and travel plans immediately hatched. I couldn't drive from the op, so arranged to be collected by Mark Sutton (thanks Mark) who was travelling from Anglesey, and we were joined by Malc and Mark Payne.

The journey across was easy enough, but time was against us as we started the long slog up the infamously gruelling 3 mile shingle headland that is Blakeney Point. In reality it wasn't too bad, just long, and we arrived hot and sweaty by largely untroubled. Terns entertained along the way, with Little, Common and Sandwich all constantly present. A female Common Scoter flew past and a few Avocet nests on the shingle surprised us, but we never really broke stride to look, arriving at 7.20pm. The bird had been extremely elusive, as most of the departing birders had informed us along the walk up, but had shown briefly just 10 minutes beforehand. We waited. We pished. We tried to persuade it to show. Nothing, not even a call. Was it really still in there?

Darkness was coming and hope rapidly faded, leaving us with the unwelcome prospect of an overnight stay, no food or accommodation and a return walk out tomorrow in the unlikely event the bird remained. And that was after the long walk back in the gloom. Not the most appealing of prospects overall. Thankfully after a couple of calls John and Jane Gregory kindly offered us their Stiffkey house (they were in Scotland), so we had digs. We'd missed any hope of food, but the pub supplied cheese and biscuits and a few pints. Things were looking up as I passed out in a comfy bed. Our plan was to wait on news before heading back to the Point. That news was surprisingly quick to come in the morning, but largely unfed since yesterday lunchtime we opted to wait for a café in Wells to open and feast before driving back to get a one way boat out at 10.30 and so requiring just a one way walk back. Middle aged tart birders. As we drove through Morston I speculatively called 'Beans Boats' and was told they had a boat out going in the next few minutes, with a return boat at 12.30. Happy bloody day. We were aboard the boat in minutes for the pleasantly brief crossing.

The Moltoni's Warbler showed well quickly after we arrived, although a scope was required to see it well. It was initially very mobile skipping between patches of vegetation, and appeared to have left at one point, only to eventually return to it's original spot as birds so often do. Job done and the sun shone. Aside from the Moltoni's, only a migrant Reed Warbler and resident Linnets and Skylarks were noted on the point, with the odd overflying Marsh Harrier and a few common waders. We got the 12.30 boat off and set off on the relaxed drive home, arriving at 5pm. A twitch that was definitely more about the journey than it was the bird, but they all count.